An Old Adversary
by Explosion-Of-Colour
Summary: This is a serious fic people! Bob and Dot mainly, but all are involved! Set after Season 3 (the best season!) Chaper 9 now up!!
1. Friends

An Old Adversary

Hey people! This is my first fic and it's gunna be a long one! Hope you like it though!

[][1]Bex_3000@hotmail.com

Part 1

She lay there, not knowing what to do. 

'This isn't happening,' she thought to herself in despair.

Deciding that it wasn't worth giving up, she got up quickly, but the top of her leg had been injured so she couldn't move very fast.

She called out for Bob, but he wasn't there. She looked all around her, calling out to him again and again. Suddenly a blast hit her side making her fall to the ground once more. A shadow loomed over her, blocking out the already limited light. She could barely see in front of her because the pain was threatening her consciousness.

Trying to make out the silhouette before her, it grabbed her by the neck and hauled her off the ground in one smooth movement. She tried to pull the hand away but its grip was too strong.

"I should have deleted you a long time ago," the form spoke suddenly, a cold cunning voice she knew only too well.

"Megabyte? It can't-" she was cut off as he tightened his grip, crushing her throat.

"Your precious Guardian can't help you now," was the last she heard as she neared blacking out. 

All of a sudden Megabyte let go of her neck and took her shoulders with both hands. Then he was shaking her…shaking her…

"Dot! Dot, wake up!" Bob's urgent voice finally broke through her sleep after nanos of trying. 

Dot sat up quickly, as if to get away from the dream. It took her a while to get her bearings, and remember where she was.

"That must have been one hell of a dream," Bob commented, startling her.

She was sitting on the couch in Bob's apartment, and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness she could see the remainder of the party scattered on the floor. The only light that came from the un-curtained window cast eerie shadows across the room and their faces, Bob's skin appearing a deeper pastel blue.

It looked like everyone else had gone home. Then why was she still here? Dot suddenly became very conscious of the fact that she'd been sleeping beside Bob and quickly got up, embarrassed.

"You okay?" he asked, worried that she hadn't said anything and then moved away from him as fast as she could.

In reply, Dot gave him a half smile and nodded, turning towards the front door where she guessed her coat would be. She couldn't deal with this now. The dream had been a little _too_ real and had left her more shaken than she cared to let on. It had only been a couple of cycles since the restart, and things between her and Bob were just too complicated. 

"Dot, where are you going? It's three in the morning!" He asked in disbelief.

"Home," she replied simply, her voice shaky.

"Why not wait 'til morning? It's dangerous out there at this time of night." Bob protested, getting up. "You can have my room and I'll sleep here." He grinned hopefully.

"I- I need a walk." Dot stammered, turning away from him.

"You don't know what's out there. Not all of Megabyte's drones have been accounted for yet." Bob argued.

Dot shivered at the name of the virus. "See you later, Bob," and was out the door.

'Same old Dot Matrix,' he thought, shaking his head. He went into the bathroom for a nano, and then decided to go after her. Tapping his icon into a new casual mode that Mouse had installed only a few cycles ago- jeans and a red T-shirt that had some sort of icon related pattern to it. After a quick glance around his apartment he promised himself not to let his friends use his place as a party venue again' and shut the doorbehind him.

Just as Bob reached the outside door and stepped into the cool night air, he heard a scream that sounded familiar...

Dot left Bob's apartment building as fast as she could. She was so deep in thought and emotional stress that the sharp chill in the air outside startled her. Deciding to actually use her excuse and go for a walk, Dot headed towards the docks. Unfortunately, because she'd never been out in this part of Mainframe so late before, she hadn't realised how dark the streets were. Feeling unnerved and regretting not listening to Bob, Dot stopped walking and considered going back. But that would mean the possibility of talking about... their relationship, and at the moment she just didn't understand her own feelings, let alone his.

Suddenly there was a noise behind her and Dot spun round, violet eyes wide with panic. In the next nano, the noise came again and a null shot out from a grate in the ground. Dot breathed a huge sigh of relief. She kept walking, telling herself she couldn't be the Command.com of a system that she was scared to walk through. At the end of the long street Dot could see the docks and energy sea and smiled in relief.

A hand gripped her arm roughly from behind, making her scream as her dream came flooding back to her in all its frightening glory.

"Megabyte..." the binome croaked. As Dot spun round to see whom her attacker was, she recognized him as a soldier who had been commanding ABC's during the war.

"Get off me!" Dot tried to free her arm. The binome looked very much like flickering, near deletion, but his grip on her held fast.

"Megabyte...he would want...want you to know...he can survive...any system...even...the web." The soldier finally got his message out and pushed Dot away as he fell back, flickering dangerously.

"Why- why are you telling me this?" Dot managed to stammer, hating having to watch this binome's certain death.

"It is you...you will...will be...his first...targ-target..." the dark blue coloured binome finally fell back and his one eye rolled into his head before he could explain. 

Dot reflexively put a hand over her mouth and backed away, horrified at being so close. She wanted to tear her eyes away as the binome flickered in and out for a few nanos. Her back hit the wall on the other side of the alley hard, but she was too sickened by the sight to respond.

"Dot!" she vaguely heard a voice calling. "Dot!" It wasn't until he was about a metre away from her that the binome finally flickered and de-fragmented. Dot gave a small cry of surprise and just continued to stare at where the binome soldier had once been.

"Dot?" Bob said gently, as he reached her. He rested a tender hand on her shoulder, but she wasn't responding at all, simply staring at where the binome had been.

"It's okay," Bob whispered as he pulled her into a gentle hug. Dot was trembling and even tearful, but she couldn't take her eyes off where the soldier had been, completely unaware of Bob's arms around her. Bob knew all too well that Dot had had to see some horrible things while commanding thee system's defence against Megabyte, but her compassion for life had never changed. Something like this, Bob knew, would always upset her a lot, no matter who it was.

"Dot, it's alright. There was nothing either of us could do." Bob told her comfortingly. "Come on, we'll go back to mine, yeah?"

He didn't expect her to answer, and she didn't, but she let him lead her back down the street the way the came. Her eyes were glazed over as though she was somewhere else, deep in thought.

"Bob!" Dot screamed as she woke up. Yet another dream involving Megabyte. It had been a horrible night. Once Bob had got her back to his apartment, he had left her in his room, telling her to call him if anything was wrong. But she had lain there for micros, replaying the binome's deletion in her head involuntarily. Then when she'd finally drifted into sleep through exhaustion, Megabyte plagued her unconscious, sometimes involving Enzo or Matrix, or Bob- like the last one.

In the next nano Bob came rushing in.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" He asked her urgently, watching with concern as Dot tried to catch her breath, now bolt upright in bed.

"Um...yeah." Dot lied, trying to compose herself. "Just a dream."

Bob could tell she was lying- she'd never been the greatest at that. He sat on the edge of the bed, staring at her pretty face with worry etched in his features.

"You want to tell me about it?" Bob asked gently, although he could probably guess the general topic- he's had a few himself since returning from the web. Dot shivered, and continued to stare at the bedspread, refusing to look at him. She felt him move closer to her, reaching out to hug her.

"No, it's- it's nothing," Dot replied, and in panic she moved quickly away from him before he could embrace her. "I'm- I've..." she tried to come up with a good excuse but as she turned to him she couldn't help seeing the hurt in his soft brown eyes. Breaking eye contact with him, feeling incredibly guilty, Dot backed away to the door.

Bob shook his head slightly as he watched her leave. He'd considered she might be mad at him for sleeping beside her on the couch, but she was never as shallow as that. Besides, it was Bob's fault she'd fallen asleep during an endless game of 'charades', and happened to rest her head on his shoulder, then he'd fallen asleep as well and they'd ended up lying next to each other. It was quite funny really. None of their friends had bothered to wake them up. 

But he couldn't understand what was going on with her. Bob had promised himself in the web that should he ever see her again, he wouldn't waste any more time. But now he was beginning to wonder if she felt the same after all...

After that, Bob didn't see her for cycles at a time, and when he did Dot made sure it was for as shorter time as possible. Luckily Bob had work to get on with as well; so he told himself to wait and see what happened instead of worrying about it. That plan only worked for about a nano after he'd thought of it, so it was back to worrying again.

"Ya missin' her sugah?" Mouse's voice broke him out of his thoughts as she leaned on her elbow against the wall next to where Bob was standing.

"Pity it's not mutual isn't it?" Bob replied, sounding slightly bitter- something he rarely was.

"Ah don't think she's avoidin' ya 'cause of that, darlin'" Mouse's fiery ponytail flicked as she moved her head to inspect her nails.

"Has she talked to you?" Bob's voice suddenly contained chords of hope as he looked at his friend.

"Not as such no," she smiled and sounded sympathetic. Bob still hadn't got used to the strong and close bond she and Dot had formed during the war. "But Ah can read her lik' a book, sugah. She's hurtin', she's workin'."

"Mouse, I don't know what's wrong with her! I don't even know if it's something I've done. Dot just won't speak to me- about anything," Bob told her, frustrated, but not meaning to get so wound up. Mouse smiled at his outburst and replied ina sly voice:

"You got it bad, sugah. Real bad." And flounced off after giving him a good-natured pat on the shoulder. Bob recovered enough to call after her.

"Looks like that makes two of us then doesn't it, Mouse?"

The hacker turned round long enough to give him a look that would kill and then walked away.

Bob laughed to himself. 'At least that's one thing that hasn't changed.'

"Dot, we need to talk." Bob flew into her office, looking as well as sounding impatient. She stood up, annoyed that he wouldn't even _ask_ her, just burst in.

"Bob! I'm working. Couldn't you at least-"

"There's never a good time, and you're _always_ working- so don't say it."

"Alright, but I still can't talk now." Dot replied stubbornly, sitting down again to carry on with her work.

Bob watched her get back to her work, acting as though he wasn't there.

"Dot, can I just ask you one thing, and then I'll go?" 

Dot looked up, surprised. "Okay..."

"What'd I do that's so bad? 'Cause if it's something I've done then I'm sorry. But I can't think of anything-"

Dot had stood up again and was leaning against her desk, not looking at him. "It's not something you've done. I'm sorry that's what you thought. I've just been trying to think everything through lately, that's all." 

They stood in silence for a few millis, and then Dot spoke up again; "Anyway, I've got to get back to-"

Dot was cut off as Bob's arms encircled her small body, pinning her against the back wall, as he locked his lips to hers.

For a milli, Dot almost gave in, but then changed her mind and pushed at his muscular chest to move away from her. Bob pulled away, a familiar cocky grin spread on his face.

"Bob! What did you just do? No don't answer that. Bob...I...I can't deal with this right now." Dot felt terrible saying it, and already regretted pushing him away.

"But...?" Bob looked crushed, the grin replaced with a hurt expression. "Dot..."

"Bob, don't. This is my fault. I have to get everything filed in my head." She looked up at him finally, and he was surprised to see tears had welled up in her eyes.

"Dot...please. Why won't you talk to me?" Bob knew he was pushing his luck but he grasped her hands.

"Stop it! Don't..." Dot turned away from him, pulling her hands away. 

"Maybe I should go and see Hex, then," he laughed, trying to lighten the mood a little. He guessed maybe it had worked because she smiled, but her expression was still sad.

"Dot, please let me help." Bob pressed on, but then regretted it as she spun round to face him. Her eyes sparkled as she glared at him.

"I'm serious Bob. Just leave it." Her eyes seemed to burn stubbornness, forcing him not to argue anymore.

"Fine. But you can't- "

**WARNING: INCOMING GAME****WARNING: INCOMING GAME**

Bob cast one last glance at Dot and said goodbye quietly. More than anything he wanted to be angry with her, thinking it might ease the rejection, but he wasn't. He was angry with himself, but more than anything he was confused. Although he may not have ever been able to tell what she was feeling, it wasn't like Dot was incredibly unpredictable either. But she'd changed. So had everyone else. So had _he._

'Maybe that's why.' Bob thought sadly. 'She prefers how I was.'

Bob caught sight of Matrix and AndrAIa already in the cube's path. He found himself wondering how long it had taken them to get together. Maybe he'd talk to Matrix about it later. Bob had hoped to talk to Dot some more but she seemed to be blocking herself off entirely. He didn't even have her friendship anymore.

Trying to clear his head, Bob landed next to Matrix and then looked up at then descending purple game cube. Bob realised he must have looked miserable because he caught the look exchanged between AndrAIa and Matrix. But he didn't say anything about it, and neither did they.

Back at the Principal Office, Dot buried herself in her work, in hope she could forget the incident with Bob. It didn't work, nor was it going to. Finally she decided to break the habit of a lifetime and go home in the early afternoon. Leaving her office, she closed the door and looked up to see Mouse coming towards her.

"You look a bit flushed, honey. You okay?" Mouse asked her, sounding genuinely concerned.

"Yeah. I'm just going home."

Mouse stared at her for a nano in shock, but knew better than to discuss it. "Ya haven't forgotten 'bout tonight have ya?"

Dot looked surprised, not having the vaguest idea what she was talking about. "What's tonight?"

"It's Hex's tea thing." She replied sounding sarcastically enthused. Dot smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Forgot about that," Dot admitted.

"Well you're goin' whether ya like it or not. Ya can keep me from deletin' her!" Mouse told her. They both laughed, then Mouse added darkly; "And Ah'll keep her away from Bob for ya." She realized too late that it hadn't been the best thing to say as her friend's face fell.

"Thanks Mouse, but he'd probably be better off with her anyway." Dot replied dejectedly.

"Now what in the Net makes you think that?" Mouse linked arms with Dot and started walking towards the entrance to the Principal Office. When she didn't answer, staring off in the opposite direction, Mouse read her expression easily, though Dot was doing her best to hide it. "Dot honey, ya gotta be kiddin' me! Ya still blame yourself for the whole of this last hour, don't ya?"

More silence.

"Ah cahn't believe this!"

"It's okay Mouse. Just leave it." Dot said softly.

"Nope. Sorry, honey, but that ain't gonna happen. Ya put yourself through this while we were fightin' and Ah'm not gonna let ya carry on with it." Mouse protested, facing Dot.

"It's how I feel," she replied quietly, not looking at her.

"Well that's not how ya _should _feel! Ya've got one hell of a stubborn streak hun, but Ah ain't about ta let ya push away the sprite ya love so much." Mouse argued, starting to sound a little more heated.

Dot suddenly looked her straight in the eye; her violet eyes shimmering with angry tears. "You don't understand."

By now they had reached G prime, very close to where the game cube stood. Neither of them noticed.

"Then explain it ta me!"

Dot turned away from her, trying to will away her tears. There was no one around as the sector had been cleared due to the game, so at least no one witnessed their argument. 

"Honey, Bob loves you more than anything in the Net." Mouse told her in a softer voice. "But he doesn't think ya feel the same anymore."

"What?" Dot spun around, startled. When she thought about it, what signs had she given him? None. Shut him out completely. A tear slipped out of her eye, but she brushed it away quickly. "I'm going home."

**GAME OVER****GAME OVER**

The cube lifted and three figures were left in its place. Dot decompressed her zipboard and stepped on, heading towards her apartment and hoping she was out of sight in time so no on would follow her.

Mouse shook her head in defeat, then turned to see the gamers heading her way.

"Hey Mouse! Haven't seen you in a while," AndrAIa called once they were within hearing distance.

"Sorry hun. Between the new defence codes and upgrading the Net ports, Ah've been pretty busy. Ah think Phong's hoping Ah'll catch up with Dot." She laughed.

"Not much chance of that," came Matrix's low voice.

"Y'all comin' tonight ain't ya?"

"Hex's party?" AndrAIa laughed. "It should be an experience at least." She took Matrix's hand and asked him; "You're still going to come aren't you?"

"Suppose." He replied bluntly. "I'm still not sure about her though."

"Hex is okay. She's a little..." Bob suddenly piped into the conversation.

"...Random?" Mouse smirked.

"Chaotic," Bob corrected, returning her smug smile. 

"Ya can say that again."

AndrAIa and Matrix decided to go back to their apartment, which happened to be near Bob's, to 'build up to' the party that night.

"Ah'm really not lookin' forward ta this little get-together, Bob. It's not like Hexidecimal to invite _all of us anywhere." Mouse confided as they headed towards 'Dot's Diner'._

"Maybe she's trying to make amends with everyone. Start over," Bob suggested.

"Or maybe she's got some scheme up her sleeve that she needs lotsa people for."

"I hope not. The last thing we need is another of Hex's games." Bob admitted.

They reached the diner, and as they saw Cecil approach them on his rail, Bob spoke first.

"We'll have two energy shakes please."

"I- " the waiter began to retort.

"And we'll wait at the bar." Mouse finished, then laughed as he grumbled under his breath and headed for the kitchen.

"That got really boring hours ago," Bob laughed.

"Yep. Staff in here need some...replacin'," Mouse agreed. As their energy shakes arrived Mouse could tell Bob had something on his mind, simply because there was one topic he was trying so hard _not to talk about._

"Spit it out, sugah."

"What?"

"Ya thinkin' bout her again, ain't ya?"

"User Mouse! When did you turn into a counsellor?"

"Ha! Ah'm just stuck in the middle've you two."

"Yeah, suppose you are. Sorry."

"Come on then- tell me what's up this time?"

"Em.... I was just wondering...were you two having a fight outside the game?" Bob asked carefully.

"Not really sugah. She just got a bit upset when Ah tried ta get her ta tell me what's goin' on."

"Oh. I saw her fly off- she looked a bit annoyed." 

"Anyway, what ya gunna do 'bout tonight? We just gunna go along as planned?" Mouse tried to change the subject.

"Yeah, we'd better. It'll only get Hex mad if we don't show up."

"G'day mates!" Chirped a cheerful voice as he approached the bar where Bob and Mouse were standing.

"Hey Ray. You been swotting up for that repair job on my car?" Bob joked- since meeting the web surfer, he'd found out Ray was a good mechanic and Ray had been trying to persuade Bob to let him have a look at his 'classic' for a while.

"I didn't know if you were gunna let me take a look or not, mate. That mean I can?" Ray replied with a laugh.

"Okay boys. Ah'll be leavin' if we're gunna talk cars," Mouse warned seriously, which made Bob laugh and Ray sweep her off her feet into his arms.

"It's alright Mouse. I'll leave you two alone for a while." Bob replied with an exaggerated wink at Ray. He grinned in return but Mouse gave Bob another of her killer looks which didn't come off all that menacing because of her position in Ray's grasp. She wondered how long it would be before he and Dot got their act together so she could return those comments.

   [1]: mailto:Bex_3000@hotmail.com



	2. Finally Found

Second part gets the story moving- sorry its lagged a bit so far

Second part gets the story moving- sorry its lagged a bit so far! Keep reading its getting good! Honestly!

[Bex_3000@hotmail.com][1]

Part 2

"Ooooh, you're here!" Hex cooed as Mouse, Ray and Dot found themselves in front of Hexidecimal in the main chamber of her lair.

"Ah can never get used ta that," Mouse said aloud.

"Hey Hex. Thanks for inviting us here," Dot greeted her pleasantly, although she felt increasingly uncomfortable in the ex-virus' presence.

"It's quite alright my dear. Now- oh the rest of my guests have arrived!" Hex exclaimed delightedly, and with a wave of her hand three more figures appeared in the chamber.

"Hi Hex, how's it going?" Bob asked her.

"I feel great, Guardian." She replied in a low voice, moving close enough to put an arm round his neck. "Even more so for seeing you here," she added quietly. Bob found himself glancing at Dot, who seemed to be avoiding the sight and looking decidedly uncomfortable.

"I'm glad." Bob replied, trying to gently remove Hex's arms without causing an even bigger spectacle of himself. When she didn't let go he glanced at Dot again and caught a look on her face that looked suspiciously like a mix of jealously and longing. Bob smiled apologetically at her, making her realize he had seen her and she flushed a deeper green.

"Anything we can do, Hex?" Dot asked awkwardly, trying to break the embarrassed silence.

"No it's alright my dear. So sweet of you to ask though," she replied warmly, but the look she gave Dot made her want to shiver. 'She's up to something,' Dot thought suspiciously. 'And she's making moves on Bob for my benefit as much as hers.'

"Now my darlings," Hexidecimal addressed them, making Matrix scowl and several others flinch. "The entertainment will begin soon."

"Entertainment?" Bob repeated, relieved that the once-virus had finally let go of him.

"Why yes, my Guardian! No tea party is complete without something we can all have fun taking part in."

"If this is karaoke, ya can count me out right now." Mouse spoke up, earning herself a curious glance from Ray.

"I bet you've got a great voice, love," Ray told her, which in turn got her grins from both Bob and Dot.

"And Ah dunno what you're lookin' so smug about, honey. Ah take it you'll be first up 'cause of experience, will ya?" Mouse directed her irritation at Dot, who flushed again at the thought of last time.

"No, it's okay." She replied quietly, and then caught Bob giving her a sympathetic look and she glanced away.

"Now now, dears," Hex clicked her fingers to get their attention. "It's much better than that."

"What is it?" AndrAIa spoke for the first time since they'd arrived, sounding a little anxious.

"I think some nourishment is in order before the games begin." Hexidecimal went on, ignoring her question, obviously enjoying the mystery she was creating.

"Games?" Came the simultaneous echo from Bob and Matrix. Hex didn't reply, instead she waved a hand in the direction of the left side of the platform where her throne stood. A long, dark red table appeared, complete with a rather fancy looking buffet.

"I wonder what this lot's made from," Ray mused, intending his comment solely for Mouse. Dot heard and had to stifle a laugh with her hand.

"What are _you laughing at?" The red virus narrowed her eyes, venom obvious in her voice._

"Nothing. Sorry," Dot apologized quickly, but couldn't keep a smile off her face.

Hexidecimal seemed to dismiss it after that, but Dot kept catching Hex giving her looks that would defiantly kill when she said the wrong thing. Just as Dot moved away from a conversation with AndrAIa- something to do with Matrix's inability to think things through, she saw Mouse and Ray looking cosy to the side of the room. Unfortunately, Bob came up beside her just as she turned in time to see Matrix bending down to kiss AndrAIa. Feeling a whole cluster of emotions she didn't want just then, Dot recognized the familiar sensation of tears as she turned away. She'd already scolded herself once that second about crying so much- it's pathetic, she told herself.

Bob watched as Dot caught sight of her brother and his girlfriend, trying to work out what she was thinking. Not having seen Bob approach her, Dot turned and bumped straight into him.

"Oh, sorry Bob." She said quietly, brushing some of her jet- black hair out of her face and looking flustered. "I'm just gunna go..." Dot darted round him and headed for the doors, hoping she could find her way out without the place 'shifting' and sending her all over the place.

"Dot wait!" Bob put his glass down and hurried after her.

"Thank goodness _she's gone!" Hex was saying, then seeming to notice Bob's intended exit, she snapped her fingers and the open double doors disappeared._

"Oh dear."

"Yes, oh dear," a pair of voices came from behind Hex. Hack and Slash were looking around worriedly at their sudden new surroundings.

"What? I did not do that!" Hex fumed.

"Mebe ya power's givin' out on ya, sugah." Mouse suggested innocently, but smirked at Ray.

"Hey Hex, put the door back will you?" Bob asked sounding annoyed. 

"I do not think we are meant- " Hack started.

"…To be here." Slash finished.

"You don't want to leave yet do you?" Hex asked airily, batting her eyelashes.

"Sorry Hex. Dot looked upset, I got to go find her."

"Fine." She replied, sounding bored again as the doors reappeared. 

" Why does my Guardian bother with _her?" Bob heard Hex say before he left, and paused long enough to hear Matrix reply haughtily:_

"He's not 'yours'. He's already in a relationship with Dot and you know it."

Bob smiled inwardly. Matrix didn't know much about the relations between himself and Dot since the restart, so he must have assumed they were together after that kiss. That's what he thought too...

Bob searched for ages but between getting teleported to different places if he stepped wrongly, and not being able to get an energy trace- he wasn't having much luck. Half a second passed and he was about to give up when he heard something clatter to the ground.

"Dot? Is that you?"

Stepping forward carefully, he was able to make out a figure in black sitting on the floor. He took another step forward but was encased in light and teleported.

Muttering something, Bob found he'd only been moved about twenty feet from where he had been, and was now standing in front of Dot. She was huddled up on the floor, knees drawn up to her chest defensively, her face buried.

"Dot?" He crouched down beside her, noticing she was trembling and resisting an urge to embrace her. As she lifted her head, the soft moonlight from above lit the tear tracks that stained her face.

"Why did you follow me?"

"I was worried about you." Bob answered, not sure why she'd asked. He reached out to rest a consoling hand on her shoulder, wishing desperately that she would let him comfort her.

"Why? Why do you give a damn about what happens to me? I've done nothing but hurt you and the rest of Mainframe!" Dot stood up, violet eyes blazing. Her voice was raised and she was deadly serious.

"Dot, that's not true. You know it's not."

"Do I? Well it's me who let Megabyte send you through that portal! It's me who let my 1.0 brother go into games!"

"Don't say that! None of that was down to you. Surely you know that!"

"I don't know anything anymore. I should be one of the happiest sprites in the Net after the last hour- but I'm not. Everyone else copes perfectly alright and I've not been through nearly as much as them- or you." Dot turned away from him, fresh tears glistening in her eyes.

"Hey, stop putting yourself down. You had to run the whole of Mainframe_ defenceless, and stop a virus taking over the system. I'd say that was going through _a lot." He reached out to place his hand on her shoulder again but thought better of it, brushing her arm as he brought his hand down. "Besides, they've got someone to share it with." Bob stated sadly, remembering the two couples together in the throne room._

"You've got Hexidecimal." She replied with a half smile.

"I'm in love with someone else," Bob replied seriously, staring at the back of her head and then into her eyes, as she turned round. He couldn't believe the expression on her face- complete surprise. Maybe because he'd just come out and said it.

"I don't deserve you, Bob. I'm not good enough for you.... I mean you're a Guardian and I'm just a basic data sprite!" Tears unwillingly spilled down her cheeks as she turned away again. Bob moved round her, placing himself in front of her again, and reaching out to touch her cheek tenderly.

"One thing you are _not, Dot Matrix, is basic."_

Dot smiled slightly at that and looked down, not sure what to say. Bob hesitated a moment, then pressed his lips against hers gently, not wanting a repeat performance of earlier that second. To his surprise he felt her return the kiss and circle her arms round his neck as it became more heated.

'Please, please don't change you're mind now!' Bob thought desperately as she pulled away. Dot smiled through her tears and closed her eyes, looking tired now. Bob cupped her face in his hands and wiped away all traces of crying.

"Bob.... I.... I didn't mean for any of this. I'm sorry if I hurt you. I didn't mean..." Bob stopped her, placing a finger to her ruby red lips.

"I love you, Dot. I don't want you to ever think any of those horrible thoughts ever again, okay? None of what happened was in any way your fault, understand?" Bob said in a stern tone.

Dot opened her mouth to reply, but was silenced by the look on Bob's face. She nodded and whispered;

"I love you too."

"Good," he grinned and gathered her up in his arms, hugging her tightly to his chest.

"I'm really sorry, Bob." Dot repeated again, feeling fiercely guilty now, as she returned his embrace.

"Hush. It's forgotten." Bob looked down at her, unable to overcome the giddy happiness exploding in his heart. Dot tilted her head back as he bent to kiss her again.

After that, all time and surroundings were forgotten, neither caring enough to notice a figure that shifted in the shadows just to the edge of Hex's lair.

   [1]: mailto:Bex_3000@hotmail.com



	3. Happiness is never forever

An Old Adversary- Part 3

I really hope anyone who's got this far is enjoying it- I'm sorry if Dot comes off looking a bit funny, it's meant to be like that though- you'll see!

[Bex_3000@hotmail.com][1]

Part 3

"You alright now, babe?" Bob asked her softly, whilst combing a hand absently through her hair. Dot lifted her head from its place on Bob's chest to give him a disapproving look.

"Don't call me that," Dot moved in an effort to make herself more comfortable. Bob gave her a quirky smile.

"You worried I prefer you with a tail?" Bob asked her, his face now a cheeky grin. He yelped as Dot whacked him on the chest playfully.

"And why would I care what you prefer?" Dot countered.

"There's just something about you as a mermaid..." Bob went on, deliberately trying to provoke her. Dot smiled, refusing to take the bait, then checked the time.

"User! Look at the time! I've got so much that needs doing before tomorrow!"

"Dot," Bob took her shoulders before she got too carried away. "Calm down. I'll take you home now and you can get an early start in the _morning._"

"But what about- "

"Just think about yourself for once will you? You can't run Mainframe if you can't keep yourself awake tomorrow can you?"

"I suppose," Dot agreed stubbornly. "Come on then." Bob caught her hand as she began to walk away and turned her back to him.

"Wait," Bob grasped her other wrist, "Another couple of nanos won't matter, will they?"

The darkness shifted again and the stranger chuckled silently to himself. The young couple were still there, and the blue skinned one in the silver armour was at it again.

'His taste in women has changed though,' he thought as he stopped walking. He watched in amusement as the Guardian pinned the beautiful sprite he was with against the wall. 'Yes,' he thought lustfully, a cruel smile forming on his face. 'She does look rather tasty.' He pondered whether or not he would have time for a... detour... before completing his mission.

The figure slunk further into the shadows when the dark-haired girl laughed as she escaped her companion's grasp.

"Dot Matrix get back here right now!" The Guardian moved like lightening, grabbing her around the waist and lifting her up. A portal opened all of a sudden and the young couple stepped into it, the woman still on his shoulder, screaming and laughing.

In the next nano, they, and the portal, were gone. The stranger smiled smugly. So Dot Matrix happened to be the lovely sprite in front of him only a few moments ago. His smile became a grin. Maybe this mission would be a lot more fun than he had first thought...

A tall building loomed in front of her, one she knew all too well. The navy under-belly of the snake shaped tower had been replaced with gold and there were the navy coloured letters _M_ and _F _vertically engraved into the metal wall.

"Megaframe, Miss Matrix. You'll learn to love it," Megabyte suddenly appeared in place of one viral imprisoning her.

"I doubt that," she heard herself say, trying to stand defiantly but failing due to the pain.

"My dear Miss Matrix, are we missing our friends?"

Dot ignored him. She'd been basic enough to check on Hack and Slash, who hadn't checked in when they were meant to, and ended up further from base than she'd meant to be. But she also knew that her capture had not given away the location of the base, so Mouse and the others were in no immediate danger.

"Now, what do I do with you?" Megabyte was beginning to sound eerily like his sister. He tapped a claw against his mouth and looked at her. Dot had stopped fighting her restrainers- she was too tired. The battle had been won. Her friends and family were lost. Megabyte was ruler. Why bother?

"You know Miss Matrix, you look all grown up in that black leather." By now it was as if Hexidecimal's voice was coming from Megabyte's mouth.

"Don't patronize me, virus," Dot shot back, then the effort caught up with her and everything started to fade in and out in front of her eyes. The pain was unbearable now, but the aching in her heart was still worse. The darkness seemed the most welcome thing in the world just then...

Dot gasped as if in pain as she tried to calm her racing heartbeat. Cold fear gripped her emotions. Barely being able to remember the dream didn't matter, the feelings it provoked were very real. Dot responded to her fear by pulling the duvet up more and one side of the bed seemed warmer than the other...

"Oh my user," she whispered.

Next to her, sound asleep, was Bob, one arm wrapped protectively round her waist and a leg entangled with hers. Before she could think of what might have happened she realised they were both fully dressed.

'Great,' she thought sarcastically. 'Between this and being frightened to go back to sleep, how am I meant to survive a sixteen micro second tomorrow?'

The timer window next to her bed read 5:10 in the morning. Dot decided it would be better to spend her time working than try to sleep. Rolling away from Bob proved to be a lot more difficult than first anticipated though. First Dot heard him murmur something and then her name, but she ignored it, knowing he was talking in his sleep, and tried to lift his arm without waking him.

His dream caused him to murmur something, this time sounding more urgent and along the lines of 'don't hurt her'. Before Dot could stop him, he pulled her close and pressed himself against her whilst mumbling her name.

"Bob, what the hell are you dreaming about?"

Attempting to free herself did no good and she was beginning to suspect he wasn't quite as asleep as he should be.

"Let go! Let me up!" Dot whispered, mainly to herself.

"It's too early to work," a sleepy voice complained, making Dot jump a mile. She felt a nose brush against her neck.

"And explain to me why you happen to be in _my_ bed?"

"You look gorgeous with morning hair," Bob said as Dot sat up, still sounding tired.

"I need to get to work. Now let go!" Dot demanded firmly. Her tone didn't affect Bob at all.

"I was having the nicest dream...about you actually."

"Bob! Let me-"

"You had another nightmare, didn't you?" Bob suddenly seemed wide-awake and serious as he held her arm and sat up next to her. Dot stared at him, not sure whether to be pleased or nervous about his prediction.

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does. What happened?"

"I can't remember now. It was nothing."

Bob sighed. "Do you have to be so stubborn all the time?"

"Go back to sleep. I'll see you in the morning." Dot forced her way out of his grasp and stood beside the bed.

Bob gave her his best wounded-puppy-dog look but she ignored it.

"Night!" Dot called over her shoulder with a wave, as she left the room, leaving Bob to sigh and stare up at the ceiling.

When Bob got up the following morning, he found Dot curled up on the sofa in her dressing gown, fast asleep. Her organizer lay on top of a vast array of papers that were scattered over the coffee table. It was amazing how different she looked when she slept. Her face was completely devoid of the tense, on-edge look she'd accustomed herself to lately. Bob stoked her arm gently as she murmured something incoherent in her sleep.

After about ten millis Dot was still asleep, and Bob decided she deserved to rest- even though she herself wouldn't admit it.

'She going to delete me later,' Bob thought as he kissed her forehead and crept out of the apartment silently. 

"Bob!" A vid-window snapped open suddenly in front of him, just as he got to the stairs of the apartment building. "Guardian, you are needed at the Principal Office immediately."

"Okay Phong. Be there in a nano." Bob replied. "Who else have you contacted?"

"Only you so far, my son. I would like you to assess the situation before involving any others."

"Is it serious?"

"Potentially, but nothing is certain yet."

Bob closed the vid-window and hopped on to his zipboard. He passed over Floating Point and saw Matrix and AndrAIa walking in the early morning bustle of joggers and dog-walkers. Bob was tempted to inform them that there may be a problem at the P.O., but decided he didn't know enough himself to involve any others, as Phong had said.

Bob found his mind wondering back to the night before, and hoping that Dot wouldn't change her mind again about their relationship. And she was making a habit of falling asleep on him, first at the party and then during a film Phong had asked her to watch on responsibilities in the P.O.-it was no wonder she'd fallen asleep really. But Bob hadn't trusted her enough to simply watch the video and then go to bed, so he'd stayed and watched the tedious film with her, just to make sure she didn't try to do anymore work that night.

"Alright Phong, what's up?"

The gold Hoover-shaped sprite turned from his console as Bob strode in. "It seems there was some strange energy levels near Lost Angles yesterday evening."

"A portal?"

"That was my first assumption also, my child. But there is no sign of an illegal entry even though the levels seem to indicate that."

"Could it be a fault in the system? Or maybe Mouse was-"

"Was what, sugah?" Mouse appeared in the doorway suddenly, casually moving over to her usual workplace in the war room. "Ah can assure you that ya will not find anythin' wrong in the system either. Not ma style to work on second-rate equipment now is it?"

"Actually Mouse, I was going to say experimenting with the Net ports again." Bob reassured her with exaggerated innocence.

"Not me sugah. I was at that damn tea party all night, remember? Which reminds me, Ah want to know whatcha did with me best gal last night," Mouse asked, grinning, obviously aware of his high spirits compared to the last couple of seconds. "And jus' remember who carries a katana everywhere with her in case ya don't wanna answer me." She added before Bob could reply.

"I might have talked her round..." He replied vaguely, grinning happily.

"It's about time, sugah. An' ya better treat her nice, Guardian or ya'll have me ta answer to," Mouse warned him without looking up from where she was now working.

"I never would've thought I'd hear you say that, Mouse- about anyone. How come you're so protective of your 'best gal' anyway? Don't you trust me?" Bob pressed, only half kidding.

"Bob listen, Dot's not had the best time of it recently. Vulnerability is something she'd never admit to, but she is. So look after her okay?" She'd turned to face him now, very serious about what she'd said. Bob was taken aback. It wasn't like Mouse to worry about her friends so much as that.

"I will, Mouse. You're a good friend." Bob gave her a quick hug before she pushed him away irritably. Bob ignored her and folded his arms across his chest and grinned mischievously at her. "So you and Ray..."

"Don't go there, Guardian. Ah can retaliate now cahn't ah?" 

"I'm going to delete that Guardian!"

She'd said it so many times over the last fifteen milliseconds it was beginning to imprint itself in her mind. 'I'll have to make sure I don't,' she thought with a smile for the first time that afternoon.

By the time Dot had gathered her Command.com papers from the night before, and reached the diner, it was early evening. She had to admit she felt better than she had for a long time. More alert, rested.

"_Evening, _Madam," Cecil greeted her at the doors to the diner. The waiter didn't seem at all bothered about politeness, as the sneer was evident in his voice.

"Hi Cecil. Everything okay here?" Dot asked. Scanning the length of the diner, she was surprised to see it was only half-full. But then again, it was early evening, rather than early morning when she usually checked on the place. Dot felt guilty that she was leaving Cecil to run the diner by himself so much lately.

"Everything is _perfect_, Madam," Cecil replied, then spotted some binomes who needed refills. 

Dot ignored his attitude- he was a good waiter really. 'Maybe not so much on the charming side though,' she thought as she remembered his dislike for nearly all of her friends. The only exception had been AndrAIa, which Dot put down to her patience and good nature.

Setting down her papers and organizer at a table near the back of the diner, Dot got straight to work, hoping to recover some of the lost time from earlier in the day. 

After completing a mountain of paperwork concerning building upon one of the islands by Floating Point, Dot looked to see Cecil clearing up and not a customer in sight.

"Hey," a voice greeted her suddenly.

"Hi Andy. Sorry, I didn't see you," Dot gestured for her to sit down opposite her.

"You working hard?" She asked, and then thought better of it. "Oops, stupid question." They made polite chatter for a while, as AndrAIa informed Dot that the two Enzos were engrossed in a mini-circuit racing competition.

"They're both big kids really."

"Well one of them has a good excuse and the other sort of has because he's the same person. Something like that!" Dot tried to explain.

"I know what you mean." AndrAIa laughed. "Anyway, I guess they'll both be fast asleep when I get back so I'll make sure Enzo Jr.gets to school in the morning okay?"

"Thanks Andy. I might have to pull an all-nighter on this lot anyway."

They talked a while longer, then AndrAIa realised the time and went home. Dot continued with her papers, determined to finish them before going to bed.

The next time she looked up, Dot read the time above the counter as half past midnight. Sighing, she got up to get herself an energy shake, more out of thirst than lack of energy. Sipping the warm liquid, Dot grasped her cup and went to stand by the full-length windows so she could stare out into the pitch-black night. She smiled, wondering if Bob's failure to appear that night had been down to him leaving her asleep that morning. 'It's not like we arranged anything though,' she reasoned quickly.

Looking over at the stack of papers on the table, and seeing the diner half darkened now that only a few lamps had been left on for her to work, Dot sighed again. Pressing her forehead against the cool glass as she closed her eyes. 'It's going to be a long night,' she thought, but smiled at the thought of her brothers both playing with the mini car-racing track.

Dot opened her eyes and screamed loudly as her gaze met a gleaming pair of eyes on the other side of the glass, watching her. "Oh User!" She exclaimed, a hand on her chest, trying to calm her racing heart. Forcing up courage, she turned to see whom the eyes belonged to.

There was no one there. No eyes. No figure. Nothing

"I've been working too hard!" she said aloud, cursing her jumpiness. "I'm okay, I'm okay." Her back now to the door, a shiver ran over her delicate frame, and she tilted her back, breathing deeply. 

'Right!' Dot thought, making a snap decision. She set down the pile of 'finished' work on one side of the table then started to gather the rest to form a separate 'half-done' pile. Dot took the 'done' pile into the little room at the back that she so often used as a second office. She came out of the room, rounded the bar and was almost back at the table when she caught sight of the figure in black sitting at the table opposite the one Dot had been working at.

He stood when he realized Dot had seen him. She immediately recognized his black eyes as those she'd thought she'd imagined only nanos earlier. The sprite stood over her, almost a head taller, all in black- including a threatening looking trench coat down to his ankles, but he had eyes that pierced the darkness with a harsh, cruel stare.

"Hey there," his voice came in a low growl as he advanced slowly.

"Who- who are you?" Dot stammered, backing away but unable to break eye contact.

"Me? I'm Damien." He answered simply, watching her try to subtly retreat to the back of the diner. "You're not going to run away from me are you?" 

"What do you want?" Dot asked, keeping her voice even but still backing away.

"Now Dot, that all depends on how well behaved you are. And how bored I get..." Damien replied seriously

"I didn't tell- how...how did you know my name?" Dot gasped. He smiled, pleased he was frightening her. Dot continued to back off. He had got to be one of the most intimidating people she had ever met, and he was cornering her, alone, in the middle of the night.

"You're not the sort of person who fades into the background, Dot. Especially in an outfit like that..." The stranger leered at her, gesturing towards her black leather bodysuit, and reached out to grab her. Dot jumped back quickly, but realised she'd misjudged the how far away the end of the counter was as her hip hit the bar. 

"Come here!" Damien demanded, anger tainting his voice. He grabbed her by the waist and she screamed in fear as she tried to struggle free.

"Shut up!" He hissed in her ear as he covered her mouth with one hand and easily overpowered her attempts to break away. "What a feisty one you are!" Damien stated, sounding slightly impressed. "I've been told that you're quite influential round here. I wonder whether they'll cope without you...?" 

**To be continued....**

** **

Heya people! I know first fics shouldn't really be unfinished but I kinda lost where I was going with this. Anyways if anyone's got some ideas please send them to me! 

Part 4 is half-way written!

   [1]: mailto:Bex_3000@hotmail.com



	4. Trouble

An Old Adversary- Part 4

Hi people, sorry about the wait, this chapter should keep you going for a while- I've finally devised where I'm going with this whole thing and you're in for a few surprises methinks! Thanks to all of you who reviewed this story already- one of you actually gave me the idea for the plotline (unintentionally). Anyway here ya go!

[Bex_3000@hotmail.com][1]

Part 4

Bob sat back on the comfy blue sofa and sighed. When he'd decided to surprise Dot by appearing unexpectedly in her living room, he'd assumed that by ten in the evening she'd be there. Now past midnight, Bob scanned the immaculately-clean room for the hundredth time, then continued to stare at the fireplace opposite where he was sitting. He ran through all the places she could be at that time of night, and dialled the Principal Office. After only two rings, Phong's face appeared in the vid-window.

"Hi Phong. Can I speak to Dot please?"

"She's not here, my son. I have not seen her all day."

"Okay, she must be at the diner then. 'Night."

Bob closed the connection and got up to leave. He was about to make a portal when he thought that maybe Dot was already on her way home, so he left a note on the coffee table in case he missed her and left the apartment on foot.

It was only a short walk to the diner, and Dot had told him many times she didn't need to be walked home when he'd offered because her apartment building was so close by. It was also her way of justifying working late on a regular basis, with no one around to make sure she took some breaks.

The way was well-lit until Bob got to the diner itself, as all the outside lights had been shut down for the night. He smiled to himself as he spotted the few dim lights inside that illuminated a small part of the diner towards the back. Bob slammed the doors open like a saloon- Mouse style.

"Hey babe, you've really got to stop working so-" He stopped mid-stride as he took in the scene in front of him. A pile of papers had been upset and were now strewn across the floor along with a spilt energy shake.

"Dot?" Bob called out anxiously, a feeling of dread beginning to knot in his stomach. The feeling was heightened when he noticed her organiser, still on-line, lying on the table with several 'missed calls' flashing on screen.

'She would _never leave that...' Bob realised immediately. Trying to think of perfectly innocent reasons why the diner could be left like this, he ran into the back, checking the small office she sometimes used to work. _

Nothing.

Not even a clue as to what had happened either. 'Come on, got to stay calm. Maybe she was called away by Matrix or...' Bob told himself, although he knew that wasn't likely. He walked slowly to the front of the diner again. 'There'll be some perfectly reasonable explanation and Dot will laugh at me because I got so-'

He felt his heart almost stop in fear as he spotted something on the bar that really _shouldn't have been there. A tiny pool of blue next to some sort of card that had been left there deliberately for someone to find. Bob picked it up carefully and turned it over in his hand, only to see a single word scrawled crudely:_

_'Pay back'_

Bob stared at it in disbelief, then touched the blue liquid and his fear was confirmed when he realised what it was.

Blood.

Dot struggled half-heartedly in his grasp again, but she knew it was useless. Her captor had taunted and teased her until she'd blocked his voice out and ignored him, at which point he'd gotten bored, finally leaving her alone. She refused to cry, although despair was beginning to make it difficult to not to cry as it was to believe she'd escape.

At the diner, Damien had told her she was 'going for a little walk' and promptly shoved her forwards against a table, sending papers and what was left of her shake to the floor. Then he'd pulled her arms painfully tight behind her back and tied her wrists. It wasn't rope or cord though. Some sort of thin metal wire that dug deeply into her skin, leaving trickles of blood running down onto her hands. Dot thought she saw him take something out of his pocket, but before she knew what was happening she felt a searing pain in her right upper arm. Damien had forced her sideways so her injured arm hit the bar, making her cry out angrily. A few drops of her blood were now dotted on the bar-top, and she watched as Damien pulled a small card out of his pocket and threw it down on the counter.

After that he had pushed her out of the diner and along deserted alleyways until they'd come to a building Dot recognised as somewhere near Level 31. All the way he'd made comments about her looks or her job, provoking her to respond snappily, which only seemed to fuel it all the more. Damien had opened the door and pushed her in roughly after him, but not before whispering harshly in her ear:

"Try to call for help and I'll slit your pretty little throat, understand me?"

Dot turned to glare at him in return as he pushed her into the room. It was an open-plan one-room warehouse building, with a large coffee table placed between two dark red sofas in the centre of the room. A desk was at the far end of the room, almost hidden due to the bad lighting.

Keeping a firm grip on her, Damien locked the door behind him, then stared at her.

"You were more trouble than I expected."

"Good."

Damien laughed, then shoved her violently to the floor. Landing awkwardly because of her tied hands, Dot let out a gasp of pain. Suddenly she felt Damien circle an arm round her thighs and she screamed. Her wide, frightened eyes met his as he glanced at her in amusement.

"No one can hear you. It's not worth the effort."

Damien held tighter to her legs and Dot felt the uncomfortable tightness of the wire binding her ankles together. When he was finished he leaned his face close to hers.

"I'm not going to hurt you, baby." He stroked a fingertip across her cheek. "Not yet anyways." Damien laughed and squeezed her waist cruelly, then got up and sat on one of the couches.

Dot pulled herself into a sitting position.

"Why am I here? What do you want?"

"I'm just following orders. Boss wanted you so I got you. End of story." Damien lay back, hands behind his head and closed his eyes. "How's Bob by the way? I heard he was web-bound not so long ago. Poor guy." He laughed again, emphasising his sarcasm.

"If my brother or Bob finds you-"

"What? I'll wish I'd never been born?"

"You haven't met Matrix. Trust me he'd-"

"Look baby, I don't care, okay? Now just be quiet like a nice little girl and-"

"Damn it, Damien, I'm not twelve! Stop treating me like-" Dot gasped as Damien was suddenly out of his seat and forcing her shoulders down again. 

"Maybe I'll bring forward the fun part. You sure as hell deserve it, that temper of yours." He squeezed her thigh and ran a hand up her side, round the curves of her leather-clad body. Dot screamed again and tried to wrestle him away, but she could barely move with her arms and legs bound.

"No! Stop it!"

Dot felt his hands stop just below her chest and he brought his face close to hers again.

"Be quiet, then I won't have to... shut you up, shall we say." He sat back in his place again and Dot lay there, fighting back tears.

"This is all my fault. I should've sensed something was happening. I should have gone to the diner earlier. I should've-" Bob was pacing the War Room, frantically pulling a hand through his long hair and speaking more to himself than any of the sprites that were also present.

"Sugah, just stop. We'll find her. Chances are it'll be a ransom demand, she'll be okay." Mouse assured him, barely turning round to stop him pacing.

"What if whoever she's with doesn't want units?" Bob challenged, only vaguely aware of his misplaced anger.

"Well...if it's anything else..." Her eyes met Bob's and she left the sentence abruptly, turning to Phong instead. "Don't suppose anythin' came back on that lil' message, did it Phong?"

"Not as yet, Mouse. But Specs is still working on it."

"I should have been with her. Why didn't I think waiting for two whole micros was odd? User, I'm so basic!" Bob was saying, starting to pace again,

"Bob, sugah, she was in the diner. _Her diner. There couldn't have been a safer place, but it still happened. Now we hav' ta find her."_

"Dot could be anywhere! What if they... what if they..." Bob faltered, wishing he hadn't thought along those lines and afraid finishing what he was going to say would make it real. He took a deep breath and his eyes darkened. "If they touch her, hurt her in any way I'll-" 

"Bob! What the hell is going on?" A looming great frame demanded as he entered the room.

"It's Dot. She's- she's been taken from the diner."

"She's what? Why- how did this happen? _When did this happen?"_

"The diner- there were signs of a scuffle when I got there last night and I found... there was blood on the counter."

"What does my sister have to do with anything? Why'd they take her?"

"There was something left at the diner, Matrix. A piece of card. It said 'Pay back' on it," Mouse interjected, saving Bob from any further questions. "Maybe this has ta do with Daemon's destruction. Some stray followers we don't know about?"

"But why Dot?" Bob asked her helplessly.

"Mainframe _was named as one of the main instigators in the battle against Daemon. Word probably got round nearly the whole 'Net that we were a major part in that virus's defeat- and I hate to think maybe Daemon actually gained some voluntary followers but Dot's in charge of the system." Mouse explained, looking weary now after hours of constant work._

"So they took her as revenge... for _stopping Daemon?" Matrix echoed in disbelief._

"But that means they won't want a deal. If it's revenge they'll... User Mouse, I hope you're wrong!" Bob exclaimed, the uncomfortable knot of panic within him becoming harder to repress.

"So do I." Mouse replied solemnly.

Dot awoke slowly, finding it hard to break through to reality. It was almost like being under the spell of sleeping pills or drugs... had he drugged her? If he had she couldn't remember it, although she couldn't remember falling asleep either.

"Ow," She murmured aloud when she moved her head. After being tied up for so long her limbs ached and her head throbbed. There was light coming from a window nearby that hurt her eyes.

"What the hell is going on?" Dot asked irritably to the empty space around her. She struggled against the wire, only to feel the sharp, stinging pain again as the skin was broken. The sudden feeling of helplessness was completely foreign to her- and she hated it. Even in the war against Megabyte she hadn't felt like this. But then she'd been surrounded by people who could help her, trusted her, and _she had been in control. Now that control had been taken away from her and she felt... helpless._

The warehouse was the same, so at least he hadn't moved her. 'If we don't move from this building, they could find us. I'm sure they will...' she took a slight comfort in that hope. CPU's would search the entire system at daylight as a first in a missing sprite case. 'When will they notice I'm not where I should be? I usually check in at the Principal Office before mid-cycle... mid-cycle? That's so far away! Half the cycle will be gone, they-'

"Hey it's about time you woke up!" Damien told her impatiently, suddenly standing in front her.

"It's not like I'm going to make any of my appointments today, is it?" Dot retorted.

Damien laughed at her anger. "You just can't control that fiery temperament of yours, can you?"

"When are you going to let me go?"

"Let you go?" Damien laughed again. "What in the 'Net makes you think you're getting out of this in one piece?" He took a threatening step towards her for effect.

"Why me, exactly, Damien?" Dot asked, keeping her voice level. "Because I hate to break this to you, but Daemon's been deleted, Megabyte is web-bound as you put it, and Hexidecimal is a reformed virus. So if you're thinking of a deal with the enemies of Mainframe, we're fresh out of evil at the moment." Dot smiled sweetly at him, feeling strangely empowered by her words.

"Jeez, you think you're so clever, do you? Well I'm going to be able to prove that evil is a lot closer than you think."

"Oh, don't tell me. Your boss is the new supervirus that's going to take over every system, city and person there is. Right?" Dot replied sarcastically.

"If you want to look at it that way..." Damien replied, barely sparing a glance in her direction as he started sifting through the papers and magazines on the coffee table. Dot rolled her eyes.

"How original." She commented aloud. Damien was still shuffling through the contents of each magazine, obviously searching for something.

"That damn Guardian is taking forever!" Damien cursed to himself, barely loud enough for Dot to hear.

"Guardian?"

She didn't receive an answer so she assumed that he hadn't heard her or ignored her question. 'A guardian? Surely that isn't who Damien is working for?' Dot's thoughts began to produce an onslaught of unanswerable questions that she would prefer not to think about. Dot found herself thinking of Bob, and what his reaction to this would be. She felt so sorry for him- if this was the beginning of some sort of Guardian rebellion, he wouldn't take it well, especially after the entire Daemon situation. 

'Why can't they all be loyal to their protocol like they're supposed to be? Like Bob is?'

"What d'ya think it means, love?" Ray asked, hovering behind her as Mouse re-examined what she was working on to, be sure of her previous conclusion.

"It means we've got a big problem, sugah." Mouse replied, turning round and leaning back against the console. She scanned the empty Command Room with slight relief. "Did Bob finally leave?"

"Yeah. It's about time you did too." Ray replied, suddenly scooping her up to carry her to the door- his attempt at lightening her mood. It didn't work.

"Ya had better put me down, _right now or-" Mouse warned him, stress and worry for her best friend making her irritable._

"'Kay, okay. Relax Mouse. At least for a while? You need rest, love." He backed down quickly, having learned the warning signs of Mouse's temper already, even in the short time they had known each other. Instead he put his arms round in a supportive hug, and felt her head rest on his shoulder in exhaustion. After a few millis she pulled away, the same tense expression on her lavender face.

"But what about Bob? How's he gonna take the news that a Guardian's responsible for his girlfriend's disappearance?"

"You're going to wear a hole in the floor, Sparky." AndrAIa teased him gently, getting up from her place on Bob's couch to lay her peach-coloured hands on Matrix's wide shoulders.

"It just follows us," Matrix told her cryptically.

"What does?" The pretty game sprite asked as she clasped her hands behind his neck, wondering if using her nails would be a good idea after her boyfriend's sleepless night.

"Trouble. Follows us everywhere we go. And now Dot's missing and I can't do anything about it."

"We'll find her, Sparky. I just wish I'd stayed at the diner longer... maybe then-"

"No! If you'd stayed longer _both of you might be gone." Matrix told her firmly, his pale green face flickered with a mix of anger and relief._

"Have the search parties been sent out?" AndrAIa asked softly.

"Yeah, but the distorted energy reading Mouse found could be anything and _from anywhere. And it's been scrambled," Matrix replied with an infamous scowl. "She could be anywhere in this system or anywhere in the 'Net if the reading's a fake- according to Mouse."_

"Sssh Sparky. We'll find her. Don't give up yet, okay?"

Bob had walked in, around, and out of his girlfriend's diner more times than he could count in the last micro. He was feeling guilty, worried, restless and any other emotion that could be connected to frantic searching for clues and trying to find a shred of hope at the scene.

It wasn't helping him. in fact it was probably making things worse, seeing the blood on the counter again- however small the drop was- almost made him sick. 

It wasn't fair. Why was it always Mainframe? Always them- the group of friends now known 'Net-wide and hailed as heroes. Why Dot?

A vid-window popped into existence next to him as he was walking, displaying Mouse, and Ray- he noticed- behind her.

"Bob sugah?"

"Yeah Mouse. What's happening?" He greeted in a dead-pan tone.

"Ah think we got somthin'-" Mouse started to explain.

"You've found her?" Bob's azure face lit up as he dared hope... 

"We may have a _possible location, sugah," She told him carefully, making sure she didn't give him any false implications. "Level 31, near Al's old place. We tracked it by-"_

"Where Mouse? Give me the co-ordinates!" Bob interrupted impatiently, already maximising his zip-board.

"Bob, I think ya might wanna hear this mate." Ray informed him anxiously. Bob glanced back at the window again in time to see Mouse's grateful smile at her companion.

"Sugah, we found traces of a Guardian-based key tool on that little message ya found." She explained, dreading his reaction to the news. "And Ah managed to hack inta Turbo's new system ta find a match on that scrambling device. It belongs to a key tool as well, which kinda confirms it."

"This is happening because of a _Guardian?" Bob cried in disbelief._

"Looks like it, sugah."

"I've got to help her, Mouse. I need those co-ordinates!"

"We'll be there in a nano." Mouse assured him after reciting the location. "Wait at-" As she looked up she realised Bob had ignored her plea to wait, seeing the increasingly small figure of Mainframe's Guardian disappearing into the midst of the city.

"You're starting to annoy me, girl." Damien warned her, his black eyes flashing angrily as he held her violet ones in a challenge.

"Tell me what you're looking for." Dot replied, her stare not faltering.

"Just be quiet!" He told her for the fifth time. She knew she was pushing her luck, and that it would run out pretty soon. Damien moved across to the desk at the back of the open-plan room, an obvious effort to ignore her.

Dot obeyed his request for a while, tired of the constant confrontations and the cramps in her arms and legs. The half-healed cuts were painful as the wire relentlessly dug into her skin again.

Suddenly Damien laughed triumphantly from the other side of the large room and murmured something that sounded like a command.

"Does that mean your Guardian friend's coming now?" Dot asked wearily.

"I wouldn't call him a 'friend', baby," Damien replied, throwing a bundle of things onto the table in a heap. "But you're pretty close aren't you?"

"What?"

"You and blue-boy Bobby." He laughed. "He'll come if he can ever figure out what's going on."

"You're setting him up? What are you going to do?"

Damien ignored her and picked up something from the table, making Dot's breath catch in her throat.

The knife.

"This- this- it's a trap?" Dot stared, seeing something that wasn't there. She reeled back at the glimpse of an old enemy. For a second Damien had changed to... no, must have been her-

Dot heard her name called a few times from a distance, maybe just next door and it was Bob's voice! From then on, Dot lost track of what was happening because it happened so fast.

Bob appeared at the door, Damien grabbed her up off the floor and she realised he was holding the knife in his other hand.

"_Damien? What the-?" Bob started in disbelief, unsure whether he was imagining this or not._

Dot's short scream reassured him of the reality of the situation in the next nano, as Damien pressed the cold metal against her throat, dangerously close to deleting her...

Fifth chapter coming soon...

(Don't worry- this is going somewhere!)

   [1]: mailto:Bex_3000@hotmail.com



	5. Old Friends

An Old Adversary Part 5

Hi everyone, sorry about the wait. Been getting my website going and back at school so its taking longer now, so sorry 'bout that! Not to plug or anything, but the site's got kind of a looking sorry for itself Guest Book- http://inside.the.computer.tripod.com/index.html Its not a bad site but I do need feedback desperately!

Anyways, back to the story- hope you're still with me!

Part 5 

"No! Damien, don't!" Bob cried desperately at him, but locking stares with Dot instead of Damien. She looked so pale, almost white, and Bob noticed the bonds around her legs prevented her from being able to stand properly. Bob didn't look much better. He hadn't slept at all since the night before he found the diner in a mess, now almost 48 micros earlier. The only vague relief Bob found from this situation was that Dot was wearing her thick leather body armour. He just hoped it had minimised the extent of her injuries while his 'old acquaintance' had kept her there.

"Bob! It's good to see you again, Blue-boy!" Damien greeted him, deliberately using the old nickname to make Bob cringe.

Bob pointedly ignored him, trying to understand what Dot was trying to tell him without provoking Damien any further. He had noticed the way she tried to pull against the restraints behind her back, every couple of nanos a flicker of pain crossed her face as either the knife or the wire dug into her skin. She was trying to mouth a message to him at the same time, her lips forming the same word over and over, which he guessed was 'trap'.

Trap? This was a trap? He didn't care if it was or not. It didn't make any difference to him, he just knew he had to get them both out of this intact- or he'd never forgive himself.

Her eyes darted from left to right as she mouthed "Go!" Forget both of them getting out intact, Bob corrected himself mentally, he just wanted Dot out of this mess safely, and she wanted him to 'go'? 

'You seriously think I'm leaving you alone with this guy again? It's not going to happen,' Bob thought as he stared at her defiantly. After all, he knew what Damien was capable of, and from the rather more vivid memories of the Academy, he knew that he wasn't going to let Dot unintentionally become like the others...

Dot felt her aching limbs throb painfully, her legs almost collapsing under her. Damien pulled her up straight again roughly, uncaring about her discomfort. As he did so he noticed Bob step forward offensively, breaking eye contact with Dot to glare at him. Damien smirked at him and then kissed the side of Dot's face tenderly, gleefully watching for Bob's reaction. The action provoked Dot, the knife still at her throat, to jerk away dangerously, and a furious response from Bob.

"Don't touch her Damien! Leave her alone!"

"Did I hit a raw nerve there, Bob?"

"Just leave her alone." Bob repeated in a low voice.

"So how come you're so attached to this one then huh? Bit different from the ones at the Academy, isn't she?" Damien grasped a handful of her hair and pulled her head back as she threatened to collapse again, causing her to cry out angrily.

"Damien!" Bob cried out with his own anger, moving forward but barely realising it. 

"Watch it there, Bob." Damien warned, pulling Dot back a few steps. "Wouldn't want the knife to slip now, would we?"

"What do you want?" Bob asked, wishing he could get close enough.

"Well I'm pretty sure your deletion was in the plan somewhere - but I don't make the plans."

"Will you let Dot go if I stay here?" Bob asked, his attempt at a bargain - which he had no intention of sticking to, provoked nothing but a laugh from Damien.

"You think I'd be basic enough to strike a deal? With you? Anyway, now I've gotten used to the stubbornness -" he jerked her head back painfully again with a fistful of her hair, exposing the full length of her neck to the shrp blade. "- I kind've like her."

"Quit with the games Damien. What do I have to do to get Dot out of this?" 

"That's down to the boss -"

"Who's 'the boss'?"

"An old friend of yours shall we say. He'll be making an appearance soon," Damien answered cryptically.

"Another 'old friend'? To put a cliche to good use Damien, with friends like you, who needs enemies?"

"I think you're forgetting who has the upper-hand here, Bob."

"Will you at least put the knife down?" He pressed on, the urge to tear this guy apart was beginning to overwehlm him, making it a struggle to keep the fury out of his voice. Something that wasn't entirely surprising, although it didn't make him feel any better, was the fact that Damien didn't seem to be infected, so had his own mind about what he was doing. Bob repressed a shudder at the realisation, searching again for a way to tackle him without endangering Dot. "Or let her sit down, she can't even stand up like that."

Dot was trying desperatly to to move her wrists enough so she could elbow Damien and hopefully get away. Thankfully the initial fear when Damien had pulled the knife had been replaced with anger, heightened by the growing feeling of being treated like a rag-doll by _both men in the room, which sufficed to annoy her more._

"You wanna sit down, baby?" Damien was smiling at her cruelly again, jerking her head back a third time. Ignoring the almost unbearable pain of the too-tight wire, Dot finally managed to cross her wrists and awkwardly send both arms backwards in a burst of strength.

More from surprise than injury, Damien reeled back slightly, giving Dot enough time to push herself sideways, out of his grasp. Damien had immeadiatly realised his mistake, grabbing for her again, the knife slicing through her armour and to her shoulder. She fell painfully on her other shoulder, seeing a flash of light soar across the room as Bob sent an energy beam from his hands. But instead of the powerful blast sending Damien to the far wall, it disappeared into his black-covered chest, lighting up orange as the energy spread through his body.

"It can't be..." Dot gasped, wide-eyed. 

Bob didn't let it startle him enough to let down his guard, using brute force instead of energy as he shoved Damien back the last couple of feet to the wall. Damien made good use of the absorbed energy as he promptly punched Bob in the stomach. Bob sent back a few blows of his own, thankful he could vent his anger. Insults and jabs were exchanged simultaniously to the fighting, some of which Dot didn't understand because they were about the Academy. Just as Bob sent a stinging backhand across Damien's face which sent him to the floor, Dot heard the shouts from outside, one of which she was sure belonged to Mouse. Apperently Damien had heard it as well, as she saw him get up and hit Bob in the face, then say;

"You know how I hate crowds." And disappear.

Bob stared in front of him for a nano and then shook his head as if telling himself he couldn't have seen that.

It took about three strides to cross the room, and by that time all fury at Damien on his face was replaced with deep concern as he kneeled to hug her tightly. They sat in a consoling silence for a while, until Bob pulled back and Dot saw the harsh red bruise beginning to form on his cheek.

"You're hurt," she told him quietly. He shook his head and pulled her to him again. Suddenly Dot couldn't stand the sharp pain in her wrists any longer, but didn't want him to let go.

"Bob...my arms..." Dot whispered after what seemed like micros in his safe embrace. Bob pulled back and stared at her as though he didn't understand what she had said. He shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts, but the distant look was still in his eyes.

Now kneeling on the floor next to her, Bob grasped her wrists gently, trying to ignore how deep the cuts were. Using a tiny amount of red hot energy from one finger, he cut straight through the wire and pulled the remains away carefully. Bob did the same with her ankles, although injury was minimal thanks to the thick boots and armour.

"Bob, are you okay?" Dot asked quietly, concerned that he seemed to be in a trance. Bob stared at her again, then placed his hands on her face tenderly.

"I thought I'd lost you again." He whispered, looking deeply into her eyes like he wasn't sure if she was really there. Bob leaned forward and kissed her softly, still unsure if it was real, but suddenly snapped out of it, needing to know what Damien had done to her.

"Dot, did he hurt you? Did he touch you?" He asked urgently, his hands still on her face, gently stroking away her dark hair from her eyes.

Dot didn't reply, only clung to him tighter,the shock beginning to set in now. Her wrists and ankles ached, still feeling strange to be able to move freely. She buried her headin his chest, a desperate, panicky feeling settling over her.

"Let's get you out of here," Bob said gently, helping her to stand, slowly. He noticed immeadiatly that she was shaking all over, whether from cold or shock or something else, he wasn't sure. Maybe all three. Bob interlaced his fingers through hers, smiling warmly.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." Came the shaky reply as she tried to calm the trembling in her legs.

"Will you be okay to walk?"

Dot nodded, eager to get out of the room, but as soon as she moved a wave of dizziness overcame her. Grabbing hold of Bob's arm with both hands to steady herself, she kept still and waited for it to pass.

"Dot, you've just gone ten shades paler! What's -"

"No, I'm okay. Just a bit dizzy for a nano there, that's all."

"If you're sure..."

"I want to get away from here. Please, can we just go?" 

Bob considered carrying her, but knew that Dot wouldn't let him, so carefully led her out the door, into the ally outside. Dot was watching the ground, stepping tentitivly and had her left hand entertwined with Bob's right, as well as holding his arm with her other hand for support. The trembling was getting no better and it seemed so cold outside...

"Dot honey!" Mouse shouted in delighted surprise from a couple of buildings up the ally. "Are ya hurt? What happened?"

"It's okay, Mouse. We can sort it out later. Can you call all the -" Bob began to instruct her, but stopped when Dot's hand tightened on his arm. "You need a doctor, Dot. I'll take you to the P.O., okay?" 

Dot shook her head. "Not the infirmary. I'm okay. I just need to lie down."

"Ah'm glad ta see ya sugah. Ah'll call Matrix and AndrAIa, and you get some rest at _home," Mouse told her gently, emphasizing the last part for Bob's benefit and an 'I'll explain later' look answered his puzzled expression. She gained a weak smile from Dot in reply as she turned to sort out the search teams._

"You want to go home? Or my place?" Bob asked her softly, secretly against taking her back to her apartment in case she insisted on being alone.

"Not mine. Yours- safer- it's-" Dot closed her eyes and gripped Bob's arm tightly to stop herself pitching forward.

"It's okay, it's okay. I'll take you back to-"

"Bob-can't stay- awake- its so cold..." Her broken words trailed off as her eyes closed again and she fell. Warm, painfree unconscious taking ahold of her...

To be continued…


	6. Strange Encounters

Hey guys! It's me again. Hope all u Americans have enjoyed the new season, but I'm in Britain so I've not got anywhere near season 4 yet- so this story may continue to work alright, or may not tie in at all! (Just pretend Season 4 didn't happen!)

Part 6

"I'm sorry, okay? It's just... yeah... I know, I know..." 

            Damien rolled his eyes as he stared at the blank 'sound only' screen in front of him. "Everything happened like we planned... yeah, apart from that. It'll crush him - probably Mainframe as well..." 

            The shadows seemed to be where he spent most of his time nowadays, and he was personally glad he'd gotten out of that 'situation' back in Mainframe when he did - but his boss thought differently. "Yeah, they looked pretty cosy... What do you want me to do now?"

            Damien wasn't sure he wanted the answer to that. 

            Hazy. Everything was hazy in front of her eyes, and she really _didn't want to wake up. Already Dot could feel her senses relaying pain signals as she woke up properly. As she became more aware of her surroundings, she could hear Bob's hushed voice from a different room and another voice she couldn't place. _

            "She kept saying she was cold - again and again," Bob's anxious voice filtered through from the next room, causing Dot to feel a pang of guilt at making him worry.

            "It's part of the shock. Don't worry, Guardian, Ms Matrix will be fine in a second or two. She just needs to rest and recuperate." The other voice assured him, then they must have moved further away as their voices faded.

            Dot looked around her, the fogginess in her head relenting slightly and slowly realised that it was Bob's room. The energy blankets felt so warm and so safe - she was tempted to them closer around her and go back to sleep. But with the now silent apartment as her only company, she wasn't so sure she felt as safe anymore. She'd never been claustrophobic, but just then the panicky feeling was coming back and the bedroom walls seemed to be moving inwards....

            Dot shook her head to rid herself of the emotions, pushing back the sheets. Getting up and steadying herself as her head spun, Dot felt a twinge in her neck and noticed there was a large bandage over the gnash on her shoulder. She realised it must have had stitches and shivered, immensely relieved she hadn't been awake for that.

            There was a soft wood-on-wood sound of the front door being closed quietly just as Dot opened the bedroom door, meeting Bob halfway as he appeared in the hallway. 

            "Hey, you're awake! How do you feel?"

            "Better." Dot replied with a smile as he closed the distance between them, placing his arms round her shoulders. "Thanks for bringing me back here."

            "I know how much you hate the infirmary - Mouse explained it." Bob said gently as Dot circled her arms round his waist and closed her eyes. 

They stood there for a little while, neither wanting to break the comfortable silence.

"Bob?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened back there? Did he… did Damien get away?" Dot asked slowly, although she already knew the answer.

Bob's arms tightened around her as he answered: "We couldn't find him, Dot. It was like he just disappeared – the sensors couldn't detect any trace of him being in the system at all." He turned his head slightly to lay a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Damien won't come back, but if he does I won't let him anywhere near you, okay? I'm not letting you out of my sight."

Dot smiled into his chest in reply, and the silence returned.   

"You want anything? Energy shake? Java?"

            Dot pulled back slightly to look at him at the last part, a teasing smile on her face.

            "You make Java?"

            "'Course. Probably not up to the diners' standards but hey, Java's Java, right?"

            "If its that bad, _I'll make some." _

            "No way, Dot… You're not going anywhere near that kitchen tonight."

            "I can pull rank on you, Guardian." Dot teased, tapping a forefinger against his chest playfully.

            "You can try... " Bob grasped her hand as she made a move for the kitchen. Dot smiled and held her hands up in defeat, then placed herself back in his arms. 

            "I love you." She whispered, revelling in the comfort and warmth of his embrace. Bob pulled back to look her in the eyes, gently moving an ever-present lock of hair from her forehead.

            "I love you, too." He replied as he bent to kiss her.

WARNING: INCOMING GAMEWARNING: INCOMING GAME

            "Typical."

            "Duty calls." Dot replied. 

            Bob pushed back her fringe again affectionately. "Will you be okay to stay here?" 

            "Yes. I'm fine, Bob. _Really - I am." Dot smiled in an effort to make him believe her, then kissed him goodbye._

            "I'll be back as soon as I can - promise." He told her solemnly. "You go back to bed and _rest, okay? I'll send a message to the Principal Office and get some people down here."_

            "You'll miss the game," Dot warned, deliberately avoiding giving an answer to the deal. Bob recognized the tactic immediately, making a face before creating a portal and stepping through it with a wave. 

            Dot smiled and shook her head. He could be so sweet, especially when he was worried about her. She knew sometimes she could get irritable with him trying to protect her all the time. 

'But its nice to be cared about,' Dot concluded finally. 'Besides, look what happened when I had to defend myself...' She shivered, turning in a circle to scan the living room nervously. Suddenly Bob's apartment – usually so warm and friendly - felt cold and lonely, causing the claustrophobic feeling to settle over her again. There was no way she wanted to stay there on her own, which, she scolded herself, was silly, but she headed for the door, deciding the Principal Office was as good a place as any.  

Dot saw the purple cube of energy just as it slammed to the ground over in G-Prime when she stepped outside. The violet energy seemed to light up the entire city, and could have easily been mistaken as a breath-taking sight had it not been for knowledge of the danger the game-cube held. She sighed. Mainframe was forever in danger – even without viruses around every corner, something would turn up for the team to battle or outwit. 

Thinking about the excuses she would have to dream up should she come across any of her friends, she barely noticed the sky darken to an almost-black colour until an all to familiar tone sounded.

WARNING: INCOMING GAMEWARNING: INCOMING GAME

            It was then that Dot snapped out of it. Immediately looking up at the sky to see the descending game cube, she saw the cube falling a bit faster than normal, but not too far from where she was. Wondering if she was dreaming this, she looked from the purple mass of energy stabilized in Sector G-Prime, then again to the cube descending from the sky. _Two _games?

            Dot decided it wasn't the right time to be rationalising the event. Weighing up her options, she came to the decision that loosing a sector of the brand-new system was not something she wanted to risk. Hoping against hope she could handle a game on her own, without Bob, Matrix or AndrAIa to help her, Dot watched as the purple energy engulfed her. The dizzy, disorientated feeling she always got when entering a game, felt different, almost… heavier, like it was hard to stay awake. Thankfully the feeling passed as she took in her surroundings.

            The world around her was almost entirely dark; the only light seemed to be coming from streetlamps placed too sparsely apart to be any help to traffic or pedestrians. There were enormous buildings surrounding her, all looking a glassy black in the shadowy night. 

At least it wasn't cold. It wasn't really warm either; in fact it was only a slight breeze that gave any indication she was even outside. As far as she could tell there was no one around – but Dot wasn't sure that was such a good thing, especially considering she had no idea whatsoever how to complete the game, or even the type of game it was.

"Reboot!"

Dot found herself dressed entirely in shiny black leather and noticed immediately that her trousers were a little tighter than she would ever dare wear by choice. Her hair was almost exactly the same, and she realised she was now armed with revolvers strapped on her belt at either side. A stinging pain shot down her arm from her shoulder as she moved her hand across one of the revolvers- it was the tight leather halter digging into the bandage on her collarbone. It was only then that Dot actually looked at her wrists properly, seeing the broken skin and heavy bruising. She shivered. Not exactly what she wanted to be thinking about alone in a game.

Dot had hoped the game would get less mysterious after rebooting, but she still didn't know anything about the game. Another problem was the way the buildings seemed to be identical to one another, and there was no sign of life anywhere at all. Moving towards the nearest ominous-looking building, Dot looked for some sort of identification as to what the skyscraper was used for. Finding nothing, she cupped her hands above her eyes to peer into the all-glass front of the tower. The glass was either tinted or one-way, so Dot couldn't see any of the inside at all, only her own reflection.

Spinning in a slow circle, Dot began to feel very helpless against the game, especially since she had yet to see another sprite in the cube. She was having serious doubts as to whether or not it was even a normal game anyway- after all there had been _two_ game cubes. Going from one tower to the next, Dot tried to look in each, but found the same problem at each building - no clear glass to see through. She already felt as though she'd been in the game too long to be wasting so much time, and it was hard to imagine how she could win a game without any idea how to find the User.  

Suddenly the quiet was shattered, as three men appeared about a block away from her, apparently drunk from the noisy shouting Dot could hear from where she was standing. A strange feeling of anxiety began to form in her stomach when she turned to look down the street at the sprites, who hadn't noticed her yet. Exactly on cue, the tallest of the men turned and looked straight at her. His penetrating stare seemed strange compared to the drunken stupor he had been in moments ago.

Alarm bells were going off inside Dot's head, screaming at her to run for it. Just as she was about to turn and run, putting the feeling down to the capabilities she downloaded through rebooting, she saw the tall man and his two companions change into three black suited men in shades. It was like a bizarre version of rebooting, except without the green column of light. 

Dot sprinted off as fast as she could in the opposite direction, immediately hearing the men race after her. Although she was surprised at how fast she was running, her pursuers still seemed to be gaining steadily on her. Buildings and streets rushed past, and she tried running down streets and alleyways in the hope of loosing the men chasing her. Sparing a quick glance behind her, Dot realised it hadn't worked, they were still after her and she was beginning to panic. From what little information she had received when she rebooted, Dot knew she couldn't face them- although she didn't know or understand why.

Now running down a small street, and still not having seen anyone apart from those pursuing her, Dot spotted an alley and rushed down it. It was winding left and right for a while, which she was partly grateful for, as she seemed to have escaped the men. Still she kept running, although slowing to a jog, wanting to find somewhere to hide before stopping. 

Suddenly a bullet ricocheted of the wall, barely missing her side. Several others followed it, coming from the darkness and the maze of alleyways surrounding her. Picking up her pace again, she ran into the nearest alleyway, praying for a doorway or somewhere to get off the street and out of sight. Instead she was met with a long alleyway that wasn't lit at all, so she cried out when she almost ran straight into a wall as the alley made a sharp turn. Still unable to see behind her, Dot found herself at a dead-end with nowhere to hide. The wall was too high to climb and there was no windows or doors to get through. Backing up against the wall and glancing round desperately, her mind wondered back to the alley in Mainframe when Gigabyte had cornered herself and Bob. She closed her eyes, thinking helplessly:

'How do I get myself into these situations?'

All of a sudden there was a noise in the darkness to her right, and someone grabbed her, a hand covering her mouth and moving her towards the side of the alley.

"Sssshh. It's okay," a voice whispered in her ear, one that sounded strangely familiar. Dot kept quiet, the man guiding her quickly to a door she was positive hadn't been there before. Once through it, she saw the door disappear completely, even in the dim light. 

"What the…?" 

"Dot?"

"Matrix?" Dot suddenly placed the voice. "How can you be… here?"

"I could ask _you _the same question!"

             __


	7. It's in the game

            Finally back!! Sorry its been so long (again) and for those of you that don't get the name of the chapter- 'It's in the game' refers to the Nike advert. 

Part 7 

"So let me get this straight; you, AndrAIa and Bob are in the first cube, but a second cube dropped which is the one I went into, and all because the game is too big to only use the normal system capacity; so two cubes dropped?" Dot managed in one breath, but the confused expression remained on her face. 

            Matrix nodded before adding: "Bob thinks it may have something to do with the new system. It's more able to cope with a larger game or something."

            "So where are they now?"

            "AndrAIa and Bob are planting bombs underneath the main building in the centre of the game. Then Bob will come back and swap places with me so AndrAIa and I can get the hostage out before Bob sets the detonator to explode."

            Dot considered this for a nano then the puzzled expression was back. "What about the User?"

            "There's too many. They fight against each other as well as us, but if we don't destroy the control centre before the Users get there or they delete each other until only one remains, we lose the game."

            "What can I do?" 

            Matrix knew that question had been coming and had been dreading it. The truth was the three of them had a good plan so they didn't really need a fourth player, and although all the help they could get would be useful, Matrix felt as though he had switched roles with his sister from all those times before the web world wars – wanting to protect her but not let her know that. 

            "Well-" he began, then swung round so fast Dot barely knew what was happening. 

            "Enzo what's wrong?" She whispered as he looked from side to side, scanning the dark room.

            "I heard a noise. Came from over there," Matrix replied quietly, creeping forward just as a louder noise both of them could hear. He was in front of Dot in a nano-second and had Gun aimed and ready.

            "Wow Sparky it's just us!" AndrAIa cried out, raising her hands defensively, as she appeared though the covered hole in the wall and came face to face with Gun. 

            "Sorry Andy. I thought you said you would radio before you got back?"

            "Yeah, the batteries on these things are pretty basic, so we can only use them in emergencies." She moved forward to hug him and suddenly saw Dot behind him. "Hey Dot, what are you doing here?" 

            Dot grinned, grateful for her friend's pleasant greeting and replied: "Long story."

            "How are you feeling?" She asked kindly, hoping that asking would not provoke any pain for her.

            "I'm okay. Just a bit bruised that's all." Dot smiled reassuringly, and then noticed Matrix's face darken in anger as she said it. She reached out to rest a hand on Matrix's arm. "I'm fine honestly."

"Everything's set up at the control centre. But Bob and I had a bit of a run-in with some of the game-sprites guarding the place so we'll have to be extra cautious getting the hostages out." AndrAIa informed him, just before Bob appeared out of the shadows behind her.

"Hey guys- Dot?" Bob said in surprise, and then reconsidered. "I'm not even going to ask!" He laughed as he hugged her. Bob was wearing a similar outfit to Matrix, both in black leather coats that ended at the knee and black shirt and tie, although Matrix had loosened the tie and unbuttoned the top buttons on his shirt. AndrAIa looked as elegant as always but stood out from the others as she was dressed entirely in spotless white. The style however, was very similar to Dot's outfit, tight leather trousers and strappy leather top, her hair tied back in a high ponytail. 

"You guys all set?" Bob directed at Matrix and AndrAIa, pulling back from the hug with his girlfriend but leaving an arm round her waist. 

"Yeah

"Yeah, give us twenty millis. We'll radio if there's any trouble." AndrAIa replied, glancing at Matrix, who nodded, his hand subconsiously going to Gun's holster on his hip.

"Be careful you two." Dot said.

"Stay frosty!" Bob called after them as they disappeared out of the room through the shadows, then turned to Dot. "And you-" he kissed the tip of her nose. "Should be taking it easy."

"Don't I always?" She answered with her best innocent smile.

"No, babe, you don't." He laughed. "The nano we're out of this game I want you to rest."

Dot smiled again but didn't reply. "What do we do now?"

"We do nothing. I'll wait another-" he checked his internal clock Glitch enabled, "eighteen millis, then trigger the detonator and it's game-over."

"Can't I do anything?" Dot asked, looking up at him with a pained expression at not being able to help.

"Nope." Bob replied, not leaving any room for argument. He gently brushed his fingers up her arm, across her shoulder to the bandage covering the stitches on her collarbone; his eyes suddenly became haunted, loosing all the humour from only nanos ago. "Does this still hurt?"

"My wrists are a bit sore but my shoulder's fine. Don't worry about me, Bob." She assured him in a gentle voice, reaching up to cup his injured cheek.

"I can't help it, Dot." He slipped his arms round her small waist and she clasped her hands behind his neck. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." Dot tilted her head back to meet his kiss. "We shouldn't be doing this here." She protested weakly, trying to keep a straight face.

"Maybe not, but you look too fantastic in that outfit for me to keep my hands to myself." Bob reasoned with a predatory grin.

He managed almost five millis of kissing and cuddling before the lack of control got the better of her.

"Surely we should be doing something? How do we detonate the explosives? From this room or-"

"Dot, there's nothing we can do right now, just trust me, okay?" Bob reassured her.

"Of course I trust you- I just don't trust your plans." 

"Hey!" They laughed together until Bob suddenly sensed something. 

"Come on we have to get out of here!" He grabbed her hand and led her out of the room quickly, a hole in the wall covered by a thick blanket of some kind. 

Suddenly the whole room erupted into flames, followed immediately by an explosion opposite where they were escaping. Bob pushed Dot forward, landing on top of her to take the brunt of the blast himself. 

Now outside, Bob immediately pulled Dot up and ran for the nearest alley. Although it was still dark outside, the flames from the burning building they had just escaped from lit the entire night in an orange heat glow.

"Bob! Are you hurt? You shouldn't have done that!" Dot gasped breathlessly.

"Keep running Dot!" He still had a hold of her hand so she would keep pace with him and she could already feel herself slowing Bob down.

"Do you know where to go Bob?"

"Yeah, there's another safe-house down here." He replied, referring to the end of the alley.

They stopped abruptly in front of what looked like a trap door in the ground. Both sprites looked back where they had run from - there was no one following them. Bob bent down and opened the door to reveal a drop of about 10 feet.

"Jump Dot. Bend your knees as you land."

Dot stared at him, hoping he was kidding, but knew he wasn't. He rubbed her arm reassuringly.

"I'll be straight down after you." Bob said, kissing her quickly.

She turned round without answering, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then jumped.

Bob saw her land a bit heavily, dropping to her knees.

"Dot, are you okay?"

"Yeah, come on!"

Bob checked behind him again and jumped down, landing with an "Ow!" as he landed more on one foot than the other. 

"Quick, into the shadows."

He grasped her hand again and pulled her with him.

"Bob, your back!" Dot whispered loudly in surprise. The back of his armour was smouldering slightly from the explosion, but she couldn't tell how bad it was.

"It's okay, its just a bit warm. Hasn't got through my armour." Bob assured her with a confident smile, then kissed her quickly to ease her concerned frown.

"Bob? Bob, come in!" The radio on his belt suddenly crackled. 

"Yeah, Enzo. What's wrong?" Bob replied.

"There was an explosion - is Dot okay?" 

"Yeah. We got out of the safe house before the place went up in flames. Is everything okay your end?"

"We had some trouble with a couple of game-sprites, but we took care of them." Matrix informed them.

"So you got the hostage out of the building?"

"Yeah, it wasn't too difficult. Another two millis will be more than enough time to clear the area."

"Great. See you back in Mainframe." Bob answered, and then switched the radio off. He turned to see Dot bent over, rubbing her leg, but she straightened up and smiled as she realised he was looking at her.

"All this running is giving me cramps." She laughed. "Where's the detonator?"

"I've got it right here." Bob replied, producing a basic black cube with a single red button on it.

"Bob?"

"Yeah?"

"What do we do if we need to get out of here?"

"Out of this room?" Dot nodded. "I'm not sure there's a way out to be honest, but the detonator can be triggered from here."

Dot still looked anxious, not liking the thought of being trapped in a room with no way out.

"Hey, don't worry. Everything-" 

"Bob! Bob!" Matrix's urgent voice suddenly came across the radio. "Set it off now!"

Then there were blasts of light falling from the open trap door in the ceiling, setting the room ablaze. Bob heard Dot scream and he grabbed ahold of her in his arms. He pushed the detonator button just as the room exploded.

To be continued.....


	8. Past Mistakes

I feel really bad for not saying thank you to all those of you who've reviewed so far in previous chapters! So thank you v v much!

Part 8 

GAME OVERGAME OVER

The purple energy lifted from the ground slowly, releasing the four sprites back into Mainframe. Bob and Dot were both caught in the explosion just before the game ended, but Bob had pushed her down to take the brunt of the blast. Still lying on top of her, Bob could feel the heat of smouldering metal on his back.

"Bob? Are you okay?" Dot asked, concerned eyes searching his for any traces of pain.

"I'm great, gorgeous. Loving every nano of this," He replied with a teasing grin as he kissed her. Bob shifted so he could gain some balance to pull himself up, and then helped Dot to stand, both still smiling.

"You're impossible." Dot told him with a laugh. 

"And proud of it too!" Bob agreed, pulling her towards him in a hug.

"Ow - Bob your back's burning!"

"It's okay, the armour's just going to need a little repairing." he assured her, grasping her hand to lead her towards Matrix and AndrAIa.

"You guys alright?" Bob called once they were in hearing distance. 

"Yeah, no problems." Matrix replied, despite AndrAIa looking critically at a scorch wound on his hip.

"You've got a bit of a burn from that laser there, Sparky." She corrected him.

"Looks like a trip to the infirmary for you two then," Dot announced, steering her boyfriend and her brother towards the waiting CPUs.

"But I don't -"

"I'm fine -"

"Go!" Dot and AndrAIa said together, then laughed at the scowls sent their way as the men did as they were told.

It was almost a micro later when Bob, Dot, AndrAIa and Matrix finally escaped the infirmary. Bob's armour was going to need more repairing than he first anticipated, so he had opted to wear an old academy t-shirt with back-up armour installed into his icon if it was necessary. Matrix had begrudgingly agreed to let the wound on his hip be bandaged by the doctor - who had been more than a little intimidated by the system's former guardian. Dot had also been roped into the infirmary when AndrAIa had spotted her shoulder's white bandages beginning to spot with red, and it turned out that the stitches on her collarbone had torn and needed to be re-applied.

"You two can leave if you like," Dot suggested to Matrix as he stood from the bed after the doctor had finished dressing the wound. AndrAIa had gone in search of coffee for all of them and hadn't reappeared yet.

"It's okay, sis. We'll wait with you," He replied, watching as Dot nodded to him before turning her attention back to Bob, who was sitting close to her on the bed, his right arm round her waist and his left hand on her knee.

"That goes for you too, Bob." she told him, although they both knew he wouldn't leave her to get stitches alone. Bob half-smiled at her in response.

"I'm not going anywhere. Besides, I'm not convinced you wouldn't try to make a run for it."

Even Matrix allowed himself to laugh at that, leaving Dot to look innocently from one to the other.

"Yeah, you would, Dot." Bob answered her silent question with a laugh, squeezing her knee.

"I don't need _three babysitters do I? Two would be plenty!" She joked back, defiance in her eyes as she stared back at Bob. He couldn't resist the urge to kiss the smile away. Then they both looked guiltily at Matrix, having forgotten he was there._

"I think I'll go find Andy." He said quickly, moving out the door with a slight grimace of discomfort from the pain in his hip.

"And then there was one." Dot smiled at her boyfriend again as he tried to tuck an errant strand of hair behind her ear.

"How are you feeling?" 

"I'm -" she started then paused, hesitant to say the usual 'I'm fine'. "I'm trying not to think about it."

Bob caressed her cheeks with his hands on her face. "You're amazing." He told her softly, and then smiled at her confused expression. "You just are."

They fell into a comfortable silence, and Bob moving his hand over her back almost lulled Dot to sleep she was so relaxed, and then the nurse finally appeared.

"Ms Matrix. Guardian." The female binome greeted them politely.

One thing Bob would not have expected was Dot being squeamish with needles, but as he watched her look away immediately and close her eyes tightly he could've laughed from surprise.

"It's not funny, Bob." Dot whispered suddenly, without even opening her eyes.

"She's almost done, babe." He whispered back, resuming rubbing her back in an effort to relax her.

Ten millis later, the nurse had finished and Matrix and AndrAIa had appeared again.

"How about we all head back to my place and order out for food?" Bob suggested as they left.

"Yeah sounds good." AndrAIa agreed. "I vote pizza!"

Several empty pizza boxes and a bottle of red wine adorned Bob's living room coffee table three micros later. AndrAIa and Matrix were cuddled up together on one couch, asleep halfway through the film that Bob was now watching on his own. Dot was behind the couch where Bob was sitting, standing reading a report that had been e-mailed about Mr Mitchell's new business venture.

Bob turned himself round on the couch, resting his arms on the back cushions, and laying his head on one arm, watching her in profile. Her face creased slightly in concentration every so often and she kept shifting her weight from one leg to the other.

"C'mere gorgeous."

Dot looked up and turned round to see Bob looking decidedly tipsy, reaching out for her with his best puppy-dog eyes.

"What?" he laughed. "You think I was talking to Matrix?" He grinned mischievously at her, which made her smile and look over at the sleeping couple who she only now realised were so quiet because they were asleep. Bob grasped her by the waist and pulled her down on to his lap to kiss her. Then folded his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"What was that for?" Dot asked, still smiling. She rested her hands over his on her stomach.

"'Cause I love you."

Something in the way he said it made Dot laugh. "Guardian, have you had too much to drink?"

"Certainly have, gorgeous." Bob kissed her again, which Dot returned and deepened in response. She could see the sparkle dancing in his eyes, making her laugh again - she'd never seen him like this.

"How come you've never had much to drink at parties before?"  She asked, not really expecting an intelligible answer.

"'Cause I can't really handle much alcohol, can't you tell?" Bob answered, grinning stupidly again.

"I can tell." Dot assured him, turning around in his arms to kiss him.

It was just after start-up that Dot woke up with a slight jerk, but instantly forgot the dream as the room around her came into focus. Sleeping on the sofa in Bob's living room was a lot nicer than it sounded, she thought ironically. Her back was pressed up against Bob's broad chest, both lying on their sides with his legs entangled with hers and his arms under hers, resting protectively round her waist. With her height she was the perfect size for him to rest his chinon the top of her head. She felt warm and safe, and she definitely didn't want to move.

"Nightmare?" Bob's sleepy voice asked quietly.

"Yeah." She replied, turning round in his arms to bury her head in his chest.

"You want to tell me about it?" He offered gently, moving one hand from her back to her hair, smoothing it down to her bare neck.

"I can't remember what happened. I'm sorry I woke you."

"You didn't. I was just dozing."

"Okay." Dot mumbled drowsily, Bob's hand on her hair relaxing her enough to fall asleep again.

"Think you can get back to sleep?"

"Mmm hmm."

Bob smiled, kissing the top of her head and whispering, "I love you." before finally falling asleep himself.

Two micros later all four sprites were woken by a chirping vid-window.

"If that's Ray I'll kill him -" Matrix grumbled sleepily as Bob disentangled himself from Dot and answered the call.  

"Hi Phong."

"Good morning, Guardian. Are you well?" The golden sprite cocked his head to the side in concern. 

Bob pulled a hand through his hair and realised he must've looked a bit worse for wear. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. What's going on?"

"It seems we are to have a visitor in Mainframe, my son." Phong informed him.

"One of Dot's investing partners needing the red carpet treatment?" He grinned boyishly, earning a look that could kill and a slap on the arm from his girlfriend, who sat just far enough away to not be seen in the vid-window, so Phong had no idea he wasn't alone.

"No, no. But I am sure that will be the case not too far from now. Another day perhaps."

"So who's the mystery guest then, Phong?" Bob asked, knowing how easily Phong could get off the subject.

"Prime Guardian Turbo is arriving later this cycle. He contacted me early this morning, requesting clearance into the system."

"Wow. Is that such a good idea Phong? I don't think Mainframers will be too happy about the guy who tried to destroy the system coming to visit." Bob protested warily.

"He told me he had to see you in person and his stay would be short. I believe Turbo has an assignment for you."

"Great, wonder what I did now." He breathed, then to Phong; "Does Mouse know yet? She won't be pleased - to say the least."

"No, I have yet to call Dot to notify her, then I will inform Mouse."

Bob looked sheepish, knowing how it was going to look to have his girlfriend over at this time of the morning. "Erm...actually Phong, she's right here."

Now it was Phong's turn to look embarrassed. "Oh… ah, may I talk to her?"

Dot jumped up and pushed Bob back on the couch the nano she saw the mischievous look appear on his face, conjuring up some retort that would inevitably embarrass her and no doubt Phong as well.

"Morning Phong. What's this about Turbo?"

Micros later, everyone was situated in the War Room, awaiting Turbo's arrival. Mouse wasn't happy that Phong had granted the Prime Guardian clearance, but refused to sit out of the meeting with Turbo, making everyone worry just what the fiery hacker was planning. At present she was explaining his past crimes to Ray, who couldn't understand the big deal – until the web creature occurrence was explained.

"A web creature? In this system? Ya gotta be kiddin' me mates!" Ray exclaimed with his usual vibrancy.

"It's what started the war, Ray." Dot told him sadly from across the large conference table where they all sat.

"The guardian protocol was to destroy the web creature, no matter what the cost." Bob added guiltily, smiling gratefully at Dot as she squeezed his hand supportively.

"I was too young to understand at the time, but the creature used life energy to feed on." AndrAIa put in.

"And I was basic enough to think the Prime Guardian Collective would _help_ us!" Mouse said angrily. Ray immediately circled his arm round her shoulders compassionately.

"It's not your fault, love. You had good intentions." 

"Yeah, and you saved me and the rest of the Mainframers from that _thing_."  Dot assured her, and then shivered at the memory.

"I can't imagine what Turbo wants me to do, I mean I deliberately ignored a guardian protocol so I can't be top on his list of favourites." Bob grinned as he thought aloud.

"Will you do it? Whatever Turbo asks you to do?" Dot asked softly, staring at their intertwined fingers on the desk.

"I don't know. It -" 

"A ship has entered the system. Clearance confirmed. It's Turbo." Specks announced from where he was stationed by the monitors.

"Send a message to his transport. Tell him to dock in Port 4 of the Principal Office." Dot ordered, quickly slipping into Command.com mode. "Someone go and inform Phong of their arrival." She added to the rest of the binomes in the room.

"Message sent sir ma'am!"

Dot hid a smile at the title – she still couldn't convince any of them to just call her Dot.

"Come on, Bob. We better go be the welcoming committee. Could the rest of you stay here for now?"

The enormous super computer ship docked with no trouble, and looked impressive next to the rest of the docked CPUs – with the exception of 'Ship', Mouse's craft. As the door slid open on the side of the massive vessel three figures emerged, Turbo leading with two younger guardians flanking him.

Dot stepped up to greet them, although she didn't feel like being particularly diplomatic with the people that tried to blow up her home.

"Welcome to Mainframe."

"I'm pleased to finally meet you Ms Matrix." Turbo greeted her, but seemed to lack sincerity, turning immediately to Bob, standing beside her. "It's been a long time Bob."

"Yeah, I suppose it has."

"I have an assignment for you. We can discuss the details later, but first I'd like you to meet your new partner. I believe you two knew each other at the Academy."

"Who?"

Before Turbo could answer the voice of the man in question preceded his appearance as he left the ship. "Hey Bob. Nice to see you again."

Both Bob and Dot knew that all too familiar voice, Bob moving in front of her even before he appeared.

"What the hell are you doing here, Damien?" 


	9. Deception

Part 9  


You're not welcome in this system. Dot informed him frostily.

I would've thought that would be obvious to you, Bob added, glaring angrily at him. He couldn't believe Damien would have the nerve to show up in Mainframe after what he'd done, let alone with the Prime Guardian.

It's lovely to see you again, Ms Matrix. Damien told her in a sincere tone – solely for the benefit of Turbo, but favoured her with a cruel grin once the Prime Guardian's back was turned.

Turbo, there's no way I'm working with him. Damien's wanted in this system on criminal charges. Bob informed his past mentor, who was looking surprisingly unconvinced.

Should we take this to a conference room, Ms Matrix? Turbo asked coolly. 

Bob opened his mouth to protest letting Damien any further into the Principal Office without arresting him, but Dot beat him to it.

I can't let Damien any further into the system. He is a threat to the citizens of Mainframe. 

Until I know just what is going on, Ms Matrix, Damien has done nothing wrong. Turbo snapped at her.

Turbo that's not fair. Dot – Ms Matrix - Bob jumped in, slipping on her professional name.

Bob we can't discuss this matter anymore in such an informal setting.

Bob started to protest further but Dot stopped him with a hand on his arm.

Follow me, she said quietly, also not liking being out where anyone could overhear their conversation. As they all began to walk Bob subconsciously placed one hand lightly on the small of Dot's back protectively, noting as he did so the smirks exchanged by the two Guardian escorts he had know at the academy.

One thing Bob hadn't really thought about was his relationship with Dot affecting his ability as the system's guardian – from Turbo's point of view anyway. Bob knew he would be able to carry on defending Mainframe and its citizens, and that his friends provided a stronger resistance with the strengthened bonds between each of them, rather than a weakness. But convincing Turbo might be another issue.

Right now Bob was trying to work out a conceivable explanation for Damien's presence here, and also Turbo's defence of him. They entered the room where Mouse, Matrix and the others were already seated. As the visitors passed them, Dot sought out Bob eyes for a nano, the silent question: Should I be letting this happen?, passing between them. Usually so confident with commander duties, it was either Damien or the Prime Guardian causing her resolve to falter. Or both, Bob concluded, squeezing her hand and smiling warmly before they both took their seats.

Okay people, let's get to business now we're here, Turbo's southern accent resounded through the smallish room, equipped solely with a large table which they were seated round.

What can we do for you? Dot asked civilly.

As I've said, I have an assignment for the two of you, he continued, gesturing to Bob and Damien. Bob glanced across the table and saw Mouse glaring at Turbo. If he was honest he was surprised Mouse hadn't said anything to Turbo yet. An equally that he hadn't to her as Mouse the infamous hacker was still not one of Turbo's favourite people, although after defeating Daemon all charges against her for past crimes were forgotten. I could also use your help, cadet. Turbo went on, this time talking to Matrix, and surprising everyone by addressing him as cadet'.

It's Matrix, he corrected him with a scowl.

The collective needs information on the whereabouts of a virus that is becoming a potential threat. Turbo explained, ignoring the renegades comment.

What do you want us to do? AndrAIa piped in, including herself in the equation as it involved Matrix.

It would mean a trip to his last known location, which is in well its in the web.

Ya want ta send 'em inta the web again? After what ya put this syatem through? Mouse exploded immediately, the only one able to find words.

Mouse, that was an unfortunate solution to the problem. But a solution non-the-less. Turbo answered coldly.

Why you little - Mouse jumped up and lunged for him, unable to control her anger any longer. Thankfully Ray was quick enough to hold her back.

I think we should go for a walk, love. Ray suggested quietly, leading her from the room. Muttering several unrepeatable phrases under her breath and pinning a death-glare on the Prime Guardian, she left the room. Bob had to suppress a smile at her actions and glanced at his girlfriend in the chair next to him to see whether she was in the same situation. Her face was blank, staring at something on the desk in front of her. Bob reached under the table to rest his hand atop hers, and then intertwined his fingers with hers once she broke out of trance and looked at him.

So you want us because we've experienced the web before? Bob asked, wondering when Turbo had become so cold and seemingly uncaring all of a sudden. 

It would shorten the investigation time if experienced riders were on the team.

Does this virus have a name? Matrix asked, his hatred for viruses showing clearly on his face. 

Not that we know of. Information has turned up several names so far.

How do you know it's the same virus? Bob asked the obvious, noting with concern that Dot was now staring at him, looking pale and glassy-eyed.

Descriptions and a mark left behind at each location. 

Why is he needed? Bob asked, referring to Damien and catching a smirk sent his way.

To cover as guardian of this system while you're away, and also act as liaison between you, the collective and Mainframe. Turbo informed them all. Bob glanced straight at Dot then as he saw her look decidedly ill.

I'm sorry, excuse me. She blurted out all of a sudden, getting up in a rush and leaving the room. Since the beginning of the awful meeting she'd been feeling increasingly claustrophobic – worse than that – trapped. Her head continued to spin as she practically ran through the corridors, nothing but panic filling her senses. 

She stopped, trying to calm down. Dot stood facing the wall, gently resting her forehead against the cool surface. Closing her eyes, she tried to mentally force the feelings away, the lack of control over them scaring her more. In the back of her mind she vaguely registered the sound of hurried footsteps approaching from behind, but wasn't aware of Bob coming after her until she felt comforting hands on her shoulders, gently turning her round. 

I can't do this Bob! It's going to happen all over again! You're going to -

Stopping her frenzied panic the only way he knew how, he kissed her until she reciprocated, then pulled her into a hug.

Following Bob a few millis later, Guardian Raspen – Ras' to those who knew him, caught the scene which confirmed what he'd expected since he first saw the two together. 

It'll be okay. There's no way I'm going to leave the system with Damien in charge. I won't leave - I promised, remember? Bob was saying in a hushed voice, right up close to her as she stood with her back against the wall. He had placed one hand on her hip and one on her arm, having just pulled back from a hug. I'll go talk to Turbo about this and then we could get out of here for a while. 

I can't not be there, Bob. This affects the system and I have to know what's going on. Dot replied, saying it quietly but her voice held confidence. Ras watched as Bob moved the hand on her arm to the side of her head, closing the distance between them as he enveloped her in a tight embrace. 

Matrix and I can take care of it for you. You shouldn't have to go through seeing that guy again until we get some answers - 

Ras was surprised when he saw the Command.com suddenly look up at Bob, anger flashing visibly in her eyes.

I'm not scared of him! This is my system and that man is a threat to -

Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean you were afraid to face him. I just don't like that you had to run into him again.

Well let's do our best to get him out of the system as quickly as possible then shall we? Dot smiled decisively. 

You're too stubborn for your own good, babe. Bob grinned back, brushing his lips across hers in a quick kiss before taking her hand and leading her back towards the conference room.

By this time, Ras was heading back already, having had his suspicion confirmed he didn't want them to know he had been there. This information would suffice to be very useful, and would improve his reputation with Turbo no end. 

The two got back to the meeting room just as everyone seemed to be leaving. Matrix approached them as Turbo, Damien and the others left in the opposite direction. 

Are you okay, sis? Matrix asked, a note of uncharacteristic tenderness in his voice.

Yeah, I'm fine, Enzo. What's going on?

Turbo said he'd give us 'til next cycle to talk it over. Nice of him to give us such a long time. He told them sarcastically.

Talk it over? After coming to Mainframe to discuss this, that seems odd. Bob thought aloud. 

Maybe it's not an urgent matter. Dot suggested, looking up at him.

Bob agreed, smiling at her.

Have you seen Mouse or Ray? I think we should have another meeting – just us. Dot told them, looking for their agreements.

I haven't seen either of them. Matrix replied.

Can we have this meeting at the diner? Bob grinned, realising how late in the afternoon it was.

How about we meet there in 2 micros? Could you find Mouse and Ray, Enzo? Dot explained, then continued, I'll have to see what Turbo intends to do about accommodation tonight.

Dot, shouldn't we do something about Damien? Bob asked carefully, aware that Matrix nor anyone else knew what he was responsible for.

Oh, Turbo said to tell you that he'll vouch for Damien in this system and its non-negotiable. Matrix told them. Is there a reason he needs to be vouched for?

I'll sort it out. See you in two micros. Dot replied, deliberately avoiding giving a straight answer, and walking away in the direction they had left.

Bob, what's going on?

I would tell you, Matrix, but I better go help your sister. Turbo can be difficult. Stay frosty! And with that he took off after Dot, leaving Matrix standing with a suspicious feeling something bad was going on. His gold eye rotated and the M glowed red as he placed his hand on Gun. 

Hey Dot! Wait up! 

She spun round, only just realising she was being followed. Too little sleep and too much caffeine,' Dot berated herself.

Sorry Bob. I thought you stayed with Enzo. 

I didn't want you running into Damien, Bob confessed, looping an arm round her waist as they walked.

I can look after myself, Guardian. She replied seriously, but smiled and added; Thank you.

Hey, I'm in the hero business what can I say? He replied, receiving a light hearted thump on the chest for his efforts. You sure you're okay?

I'm fine! People keep acting like I'm going to break or delete or something!

Dot, don't shut me out. It is okay to be upset, you know. Bob told her softly, pulling on her arm to stop her walking and face him.

I just freaked out a bit before, I'm fine now. I promise. Dot told him solemnly, and then hugged him.

Two micros is more than enough time to sort Turbo out. How about we go to your office - Bob said suggestively, a predatory grin adorning his face.

Bob! You're terrible! She laughed as he swept her back in his arms and trapped her against the wall. What if someone comes along here?

Enough worrying, gorgeous, Bob silenced her qualms with a kiss, becoming more heated. 

When Dot managed to pull away, breathless, she burst out; Do you hear that?

Bob listened, and then heard the faint sound of voices. They must have been in a room as they sounded close but muffled.

They sound familiar. Dot replied, frowning, an uncertain knot forming in her stomach.

It's probably Turbo. You want to see him now? Bob asked her.

she replied absently.

The voices were more audible further along the corridor, and they both caught the conversation going on inside before either of them had the chance to knock.

That went well boss. I think this will work.

The voice was Damien's; Bob realised immediately, and mouthed it to Dot, who nodded. she mouthed back, unsure if that was the usual address for the Prime Guardian. Bob shrugged his shoulders and listened for Turbo's reply to the strange statement. It never came.

The voice that answered was distinctly familiar but didn't belong to the Prime Guardian. A distinctly sinister British-accented voice. Distinctly viral.

And Megaframe will once again rise from the ashes.

To be continued....

  



End file.
